Background: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an auto-inflammatory disease, characterized by frequent attacks of fever and polyserositis. The chronic disease course and its burden with the life-long medications have an effect on the outcomes of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with FMF.
Objectives: To evaluate the outcomes of HRQoL and related risk factors in a large cohort of Egyptian patients with FMF.
Patients and Methods: A total of 118 patients and 100 controls were enrolled from the Clinical Genetics Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. The Arabic version of Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQLTM) Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scale was used to assess the HRQoL outcomes.
Results: The outcome scores of HRQoL were lower in patients with FMF in comparison with the controls in all domains (P<0.0001). Mild cases had better HRQoL outcomes than severe cases (P<0.0001). HRQoL outcomes were significantly higher in patients with fewer attacks than those who had many attacks per month (P<0.0001). There was a significant association between the emotional functioning and sex (P=0.042), with more affection of females.
Conclusion: This is the first study conducted on a large number of Egyptian patients with FMF demonstrating the negative effect of FMF disease on HRQoL. The number of attacks and disease severity significantly affect HRQoL. Psychosocial support is recommended to improve HRQoL of patients with FMF.