Quality of life in Thai women with various types of abnormal uterine bleeding

Abstract

Objective: To determine the quality of life (QoL) in Thai women with various types of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 353 AUB patients between November 2010 and January 2012. They were grouped according to the duration of symptom: <6 months (acute AUB, n = 122), ≥6 months (chronic AUB, n = 138), and postmenopausal bleeding (PMB, n = 93); and the bleeding pattern: hypermenorrhea (n = 24) and irregular bleeding (n = 236). QoL was determined using the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) Thai version. Results: The acute AUB and chronic AUB groups had a mean age of 43.84 ± 4.87 and 43.81 ± 6.55 years; they were younger than the PMB group (55.62 ± 7.55 years) (P < 0.001). Medical diseases were more prevalent in the PMB than in the acute and chronic groups (66.7% vs. 27.9% and 35.5%, respectively, P < 0.001). Some subscales of the SF-36 were significantly lower in the women with AUB than in those with normative values, in those with chronic AUB or PMB than in those with acute AUB, and in those with hypermenorrhea rather than in those with irregular bleeding. Conclusion: Thai women with any AUB types have a poorer QoL than general Thai women. QoL tends to be poorer in women with symptoms longer than 6 months or with hypermenorrhea.