Metabolic Syndrome Negatively Impacts Stone-Specific Quality of Life

The impact of kidney stone disease on quality of life in high-risk stone formers

OBJECTIVE

To assess the impact of kidney stone disease (KSD) and its treatment on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of high-risk stone formers with hyperparathyroidism, renal tubular acidosis, malabsorptive disease, and medullary sponge kidney.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life questionnaire was used to evaluate HRQOL in 3301 patients with a history of KSD from 16 institutions in North America between 2014 and 2020. Baseline characteristics and medical history were collected from patients, while active KSD was confirmed through radiological imaging. The high-risk group was compared to the remaining patients (control group) using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test.

RESULTS

Of 1499 patients with active KSD included in the study, the high-risk group included 120 patients. The high-risk group had significantly lower HRQOL scores compared to the control group (P < 0.01). In the multivariable analyses, medullary sponge kidney disease and renal tubular acidosis were independent predictors of poorer HRQOL, while alkali therapy was an independent predictor of better HRQOL (all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients with active KSD, high-risk stone formers had impaired HRQOL with medullary sponge kidney disease and renal tubular acidosis being independent predictors of poorer HRQOL. Clinicians should seek to identify these patients earlier as they would benefit from prompt treatment and prevention.

Association of metabolic syndrome components and NAFLD with quality of life: Insights from a cross-sectional study

AIM

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with higher cardiovascular and metabolic risks, as well as with psychosocial disorders. Data regarding quality of life (QoL) in patients with MetS, point towards a significative association between MetS and a worse QoL. It remains unclear whether MetS components and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are associated with QoL in these individuals. We aimed to evaluate the association between QoL of patients with MetS and prespecified metabolic parameters (anthropometric, lipidic and glucose profiles), the risk of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis, and hepatic elastography parameters.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study including patients from microDHNA cohort. This cohort includes patients diagnosed with MetS, 18 to 75 years old, followed in our tertiary center. The evaluation included anamnesis, physical examination, a QoL questionnaire (Short-Form Health Survey, SF-36), blood sampling and hepatic elastography. We used ordered logistic regression models adjusted to sex, age and body mass index to evaluate the associations between the QoL domains evaluated by SF-36 and the prespecified parameters.

RESULTS

We included a total of 65 participants with MetS, with 54% being female and the mean age 61.9 ± 9.6 years old. A worse metabolic profile, specifically higher waist circumference, lower HDL, higher triglycerides, and more severe hepatic steatosis, were associated with worse QoL scores in several domains. We found no significant association of hepatic fibrosis with QoL.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggests that there is a link between a worse metabolic profile (specifically poorer lipidic profile and presence of hepatic steatosis) and a worse QoL in patients with MetS.

Development and Preliminary Validation of the 6-Item Short Form of the Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE

To develop a short form of the Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life (WISQOL): 1) identify the smallest subset of items from WSIQOL that accurately predict patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and 2) in a clinical patient population, test these items-grouped together to form the WISQOL-short form (SF) - and assess its convergent validity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The items for the WISQOL-SF were identified based on classic item analysis theory. Patients who previously completed the original 28-item WISQOL were randomly split into 2 groups of equal size. Scores for the WISQOL were calculated for one group while those for the WISQOL-SF were calculated for the other. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated. Impacts of demographic and clinical factors as well as stone and symptom status at the time of WISQOL completion were examined.

RESULTS

Patients (n = 740) who completed the WISQOL between 6/2017 and 11/2021 were included. Patients were 48% male, 54.1 ± 14.6 years old, and had a BMI of 31.2 ± 8.1. After item analysis and reduction, the six items ultimately included in the WISQOL-SF represented 2 of the 4 domains (social and emotional) of the original WISQOL. The internal consistency of the WISQOL-SF was similar to the original (Cronbach's alpha 0.943 vs. 0.973). No differences for health-related quality of life were found between groups (P = .567).

CONCLUSION

The WISQOL-SF demonstrated the expected differences for gender and between patients with and without stone-related symptoms at the time of WISQOL completion. The WISQOL-SF showed good consistency and produced similar HRQOL scores to the full-form WISQOL.