If quality of life of women with varicose vein was related to surgery treatment?

Around 20-25% of the women in the Western world are suffering from the Varicose Vein (VV). It causes a continuous discomfort, disability and a decrease in the quality of life (QoL) of the women suffering from it.

The aim of the study: to evaluate if women's QoL before and after one year of VV surgery depends on healthy behavior; demographic characteristics; health characteristics.

Methods: The evaluation of treatment in two points of time: one year after the surgery among women who passed the VV operation vs. QoL a one year before the surgery.

The study population: hospitalized women (25-60 years) who passed a Doppler examination on the deep and superficial veins before the surgery and VV surgery (leg not otherwise specified 454.9) during 2002-2004 on the central hospital in Israel.

Data was collected from the hospital database and contained 234 women. To fill missing information, a phone interview was made using a SF-36 questionnaire to evaluate the QoL. To predict the QoL after the surgery a multi-variable linear regression model was used.

Results: Among 197 women that responded to the study, a statistical difference was found on the means of QoL before and after the surgery. QoL was increased after a surgery by 1.8±13.1 units. A difference was found between the average of physical ability score before and after the surgery, in 33.6 units (p<0.001) and mental score in 9.3 units (p<0.001). In a multi - variable model only age predicts QoL after the surgery, a rising in one year of the age decreases the QoL after the surgery in 0.6 units.

Conclusions: Only age during the surgery can explain significance of QoL in woman. VV and its treatment are important on the social and occupational medicine aspects due to a loss of working days related to complications or disabilities.