”Bara du har hälsan är allting bra.” Stämmer detta? Hälsa har länge betraktats som avsaknad av ohälsa, men inkluderar i dag begreppet livskvalitet. Nöjdhet med livet består av många komponenter, tre som nämns ofta är ekonomi, sysselsättning och det sociala livet. Denna studie ämnar utröna hur sambanden ser ut mellan hälsa och nöjdhetsområdena ekonomi, sysselsättning samt det sociala livet. En enkätstudie utfördes på 98 studenter som skattade sin hälsa och nöjdhet. Studien fann låga samband förutom att hälsa korrelerade starkt med nöjdheten med det sociala livet. Studenter som har ett förhållande visade ett högre samband mellan hälsa och nöjdhet än singlar. Denna studie visade att hälsan är nödvändig men inte avgörande för studentens nöjdhet.

Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att beskriva den hälsorelaterade livskvaliteten hos patienter med en implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).  Studien genomfördes som en litteraturöversikt, där tolv vetenskapliga artiklar av kvantitativ karaktär analyserades och användes i studiens resultatdel.  Sökorden som användes var Defibrillators, Implantable, Quality of Life och health related. Inklusionskriterier var artiklar skrivna på engelska, peer-reviewed, publicerade från år 2000 och framåt samt deltagarna i dessa studier skulle vara 19 år eller äldre. I studien framkom det att ICD-patienter undvek specifika platser, objekt och fysiska aktiviteter relaterade till ICD:n. Också en oro över bilkörning framkom.  ICD-patienter utsätts för en förändring i livssituation och är i behov av stöd och individuell informationsgivning gällande deras medicintekniska anordning. Idag är största delen av forskning gjord på män, då implantationsfrekvensen är högre hos dessa. Vidare forskning är relevant och bör omfatta kvinnor, för att på så sätt kunna anpassa framtida vårdinsatser på ett individuellt plan. Vårdgivare behöver fördjupad kunskap inom detta område, då implantationsfrekvensen av ICD är ökande. Kunskap hos vårdgivare kan möjligtvis leda till en ökad hälsorelaterad livskvalitet inom denna patientgrupp. / The aim with this literature study was to describe the health related quality of life in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The study was carried out as a literature study and twelve articles, which all were of quantitative character, were analyzed and constituted the result of the study. The search words that were used were Defibrillators, Implantable, Quality of Life and health related. The criteria of inclusion were articles in English, peer-reviewed, published in 2000 to present day and the participants in these studies had to be 19 years or elder. In the study it emerged that ICD-patients avoided specific places, objects and physical activities related to the ICD. Also a concern regarding driving appeared. ICD-patients are subjects of a change in their life situation and are in need of support and individual information regarding their medicine technical device. To this date, the majority of researches are conducted on men, because of the higher implant frequency within this gender. Further researches are of importance and shall enclose the female gender, to be able to adapt the contribution of nursing on an individual level. Health care providers are in need of deepened knowledge within this area, because of the rising frequency of implantation. This knowledge might lead to a increased health related quality of life within this patient group.

Background: Diabetes with onset in younger ages affects both length of life and health status due to debilitating and life-threatening long-term complications. In addition, episodes and fear of hypoglycaemia and of long-term consequences may have a substantial impact on health status. This study aims to describe and analyse health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in individuals with onset of diabetes at the age of 15-34 years and with a disease duration of 1, 8, 15 and 24 years compared with control individuals matched for age, sex and county of residence. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 839 individuals with diabetes and 1564 control individuals. Data on socioeconomic status and HRQoL using EQ-5D were collected by a postal questionnaire. Insulin treatment was self-reported by 94% of the patients, the majority most likely being type 1. Results: Individuals with diabetes reported lower HRQoL, with a significantly lower mean EQ VAS score in all cohorts of disease duration compared with control individuals for both men and women, and with a significantly lower EQ-5D(index) for women, but not for men, 15 years (0.76, p = 0.022) and 24 years (0.77, p = 0.016) after diagnosis compared with corresponding control individuals. Newly diagnosed individuals with diabetes reported significantly more problems compared with the control individuals in the dimension usual activities (women: 13.2% vs. 4.0%, p = 0.048; men: 11.4% vs. 4.1%, p = 0.033). In the other dimensions, differences between individuals with diabetes and control individuals were found 15 and 24 years after diagnosis: for women in the dimensions mobility, self-care, usual activities and pain/discomfort and for men in the dimension mobility. Multivariable regression analysis showed that diabetes duration, being a woman, having a lower education and not being married or cohabiting had a negative impact on HRQoL. Conclusions: Our study confirms the negative impact of diabetes on HRQoL and that the difference to control individuals increased by disease duration for women with diabetes. The small difference one year after diagnosis could imply a good management of diabetes care and a relatively quick adaptation. Our results also indicate that gender differences still exist in Sweden, despite modern diabetes treatment and management in Sweden.

Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva vilka symtom som påverkade den hälsorelaterade livskvaliteten hos svårt leversjuka patienter samt beskriva hur symtomen påverkade patientens hälsorelaterade livskvalitet. Metod: Vetenskapliga artiklar söktes i databaserna Cinahl, Ovid Medline, Pubmed och PsycINFO. 15 vetenskapliga artiklar godkändes efter kvalitetsgranskning och låg till grund för resultatet. Resultat: I litteraturstudien framkom att patienternas hälsorelaterade livskvalitet påverkades av trötthet, hjärnpåverkan orsakat av sviktande leverfunktion, vätskeansamling i kroppen, klåda, smärta, muskelkramper, symtom från mag-tarmkanalen, benskörhet samt torrhet i ögon och mun. Symtomen påverkade i olika grad den psykiska-, fysiska- och sociala hälsorelaterad livskvaliteten. Psykiskt upplevde patienterna bristande energi och motivation, försämrad sömn, koncentrationssvårigheter, försämrad självkänsla, osäkerhet, frustration, skuld, otillräcklighet, rädsla, oro, ångest, depression och självmordstankar. De fysiska följderna innebar utmattning, andnöd, ökad smärtupplevelse och begränsad förmåga till fysisk aktivitet. Besvären innebar problem att hantera relationer, gav begränsningar i det yrkesverksamma livet, inskränkning i sociala aktiviteter samt svårigheter att klara av det dagliga livet. Slutsatser: Många symtom påverkade den svårt leversjuka patientens hälsorelaterade livskvalitet. Symtomen gav patienten problem att klara av olika vardagssituationer. Den genomförda litteraturstudien ger sjuksköterskan kunskap för att kunna tolka och bedöma de symtom som patienten beskriver.

Little is known about the early recovery of functional outcomes in the lung transplant population. This thesis investigated skeletal muscle strength, functional exercise capacity, health-related quality of life and daily physical activity pre- and early post-lung transplantation in a cohort of fifty participants. Significant functional limitations were observed pre-transplant, however levels of physical activity were higher on rehabilitation days as compared to non-rehabilitation days. Post-transplant, improvements in functional exercise capacity and physical activity lagged behind the early improvements in pulmonary function and health-related quality of life. Muscle strength was reduced at hospital discharge compared to pre-transplant levels, but improved to pre-transplant levels by three months post-transplant. In summary, significant functional limitation exists pre-transplant, and lung transplantation leads to significant improvement of functional outcomes; however functional recovery occurs at different time periods and to varying degrees, and does not reach levels of a healthy reference population by three months post-lung transplant.

Little is known about the early recovery of functional outcomes in the lung transplant population. This thesis investigated skeletal muscle strength, functional exercise capacity, health-related quality of life and daily physical activity pre- and early post-lung transplantation in a cohort of fifty participants. Significant functional limitations were observed pre-transplant, however levels of physical activity were higher on rehabilitation days as compared to non-rehabilitation days. Post-transplant, improvements in functional exercise capacity and physical activity lagged behind the early improvements in pulmonary function and health-related quality of life. Muscle strength was reduced at hospital discharge compared to pre-transplant levels, but improved to pre-transplant levels by three months post-transplant. In summary, significant functional limitation exists pre-transplant, and lung transplantation leads to significant improvement of functional outcomes; however functional recovery occurs at different time periods and to varying degrees, and does not reach levels of a healthy reference population by three months post-lung transplant.

Background: Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) can be negatively affected in patients living with arrhythmias and many patients experience a pronounced symptom burden. The arrhythmia can cause both uncertainty and limitations, including interference with work, reluctance to perform and plan for leisure activities and leading to self-imposed restrictions in daily life situations. There are patients striving to find strategies to manage the arrhythmia and for some this can become the focus in their lives. Treatment options are often a choice between pharmaceuticals and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) where RFA is an option for many arrhythmia-patients to be cured. In the care of arrhythmia-patients it is of great importance to combine objective examinations with patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to achieve patient’s own experiences of treatment efficacy and arrhythmias interference in daily life situations. Aims: The overall aims of this thesis were to assess symptom burden and HRQOL in patients with arrhythmias and to develop and validate an arrhythmia-specific questionnaire, suitable for most arrhythmia-patients. Design and Methods: Studies I and II were single-centre studies including patients referred for RFA, with two different arrhythmia diagnoses. Assessments of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) concerning HRQOL were performed using two questionnaires, SF-36 and EQ-5D (I-II). Further, patients were asked some disease-specific questions (I). Study I describes assessments before the RFA treatment and Study II the follow-up assessments at three and twelve months after RFA. Patients’ scoring of HRQOL was compared to age and gender matched reference groups before and after RFA (I-II). Studies III and IV describe the development and validation of a disease-specific questionnaire ASTA (Arrhythmia-Specific questionnaire in Tachycardia and Arrhythmia) assessing symptom burden and HRQOL. Studies III and IV were multicentre studies. Patients planned for DC-conversion, AF patients seeking emergency care and those with different forms of arrhythmias referred for RFA were included. Results: Patients scored significantly lower HRQOL in seven of SF-36’s eight scales compared to the age and gender matched reference groups before RFA treatment. Frequent arrhythmia attacks had a great negative impact on HRQOL, and female gender and older age were factors contributing to worse HRQOL (I). Treatment with RFA restored the patients’ HRQOL. Most positive effects were seen at three months follow-up. One year after treatment patients and the matched reference group scored their HRQOL to a similar level, assessed with SF-36 and EQ-5D index (II). The validated ASTA questionnaire was found to have good psychometric properties. Construct validity was confirmed with sufficient levels of item-total correlations in the ASTA symptom burden scale and HRQOL scales. The dimensionality of the ASTA HRQOL scale was established with confirmatory factor analysis, supporting a physical and a mental subscale. The internal consistency, demonstrated with Cronbach’s alpha (α), was satisfactory for the ASTA symptom burden scale and the ASTA HRQOL scales, varying from α 0.79 to α 0.91 (III-IV). Conclusions and clinical implications: The studies in this thesis confirmed how negatively affected the arrhythmia-patients can be with a pronounced symptom burden and impaired HRQOL. Treatment with RFA was demonstrated to restore the patients HRQOL to an equal level of that of the matched reference group. PROs are important to take into consideration in the care of arrhythmia-patients, to achieve the patients’ subjective experiences of their daily life situation. To the best of our knowledge ASTA is the first arrhythmia-specific questionnaire assessing symptom burden and HRQOL, suitable for most arrhythmia forms. The newly validated ASTA questionnaire can be an important contribution to assessment of PROs in arrhythmia-patients.

This study evaluated the associations of individual and neighborhood level risk factors with physical health, mental health, and stress in a diverse urban county. Relatively little research has attempted to disentangle the interactive individual characteristics and neighborhood conditions underlying health outcomes and disparities. To address this, survey data were collected and analyzed from 1,107 residents living in one of the 114 census tracts in DeKalb County, GA. Using multilevel structural equation modeling techniques, this study found that neighborhood level measures of the social and built environment were not associated with the health outcomes under study after controlling for neighborhood level income and education. Alternatively, individual level perceptions of the social and built environment and measures of access to health care were significantly associated with physical health, mental health, and perceived stress. This study also found that the association between low individual income and poor physical health was more pronounced for participants who lived in low-income neighborhoods than participants who lived in high-income neighborhoods. Additionally, this study found that Black residents reported significantly better mental health compared to White residents when they lived in high-income neighborhoods, and Black participants reported significantly more stress compared to White participants when they lived in low-income neighborhoods. Results of this study further scientific understanding of the role of neighborhood processes in health disparities and potentially help inform the development of programs and policies related to neighborhood conditions and health disparities.

Introduction: More and more children and young people get the diagnosis celiac disease established. Celiac is a life-long disease, which means that the child during the rest of its life has to be on a strictly gluten-free diet. There are few studies so far, which have examined how children having a life-long disease with food treatment and increasing prevalence really experience their health related quality of life (HRQoL). Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine how children (8 – 18 years old) suffering from celiac valued their HRQoL and to illustrate as well whether the age of the child and its extent of disease when it was taken ill affected the child’s evaluation of HRQoL later in life. The purpose was also to compare whether the children’s parents valued the HRQoL of their children to the same extent as the children did. Method: 160 children, 54 boys and 102 girls were included in the study. Answers from 149 children/parents are being worked up in the result. DISABKIDS Chronic generic measure – DCGM – 12 in a short version for both children and parents is used to measure HRQoL during the last four weeks. Results: There was no difference between how boys and girls of different age experienced their total HRQoL during the latest four weeks. Nor were there any visible dissimilarities in the individual domains (mental, social and psychic health). The children who were diagnosed before the age of four being much affected by their disease at the time of the diagnosis valued their HRQoL higher than the children who were diagnosed after the age of four. The children who had been suffering from their disease during a longer period (>8, 7 years) showed a higher degree of HRQoL. The parental evaluation of their children’s HRQoL was lower than that of their own children, in the evaluation of the total HRQoL as well as in the individual domains (mental, social and psychic health). Conclusion: The test “DISABKIDS” shows that the majority of children suffering from celiac disease judged their HRQoL as very good during the last four weeks. Children suffering from celiac showed in this study a higher HRQoL than all the other groups of diagnosis having used DISABKIDS.

This research examines the associations between landscape spatial patterns of urban forests, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and obesity (captured by body mass index, BMI) among Hispanic children living in Houston's inner city neighborhoods. One hundred 4th and 5th grade children and their mothers were recruited from five elementary schools. Children's BMI values were calculated from objectively measured height and weight. Children were surveyed about their environmental perceptions, physical activity, and socio-demographic factors. In addition, both the children and their mothers completed the PedsQL survey to measure the children's HRQOL. Using high-resolution Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quadrangle (DOQQ) aerial photo imagery, landscape spatial patterns of urban forests were measured by Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing. FRAGSTATS was used to compute various landscape indices for areas within a half-mile and a quarter-mile from each child's home, using both airline and network distances. Multiple regression models were used to predict the children's BMI and HRQOL. Four groups of independent variables were examined: landscape indices, socio-demographic variables, physical activity, and environmental perceptions and satisfaction (factor variables). Separate models were estimated using the GIS variables captured at different spatial extents including a half-mile and quarter-mile airline buffer, and a half-mile and quarter-mile network buffer. This research showed that several landscape indices were significantly correlated with the children's BMI and HRQOL. Well-connected landscape spatial patterns and more tree patches (disaggregated landscape patterns) in a half-mile airline buffer from the subjects' homes were negatively associated with the children's BMI. Less fragmented landscape spatial conditions and larger areas of urban forests and tree patches showed positive associations with the children's HRQOL. This research adds to the current multi-disciplinary area of research on environment-health relationships, by investigating the roles of urban greeneries and linking their spatial structure to children's obesity and quality of life.