Abstract
BACKGROUND: Uterine fibroids are highly prevalent and constitute significant health and social concerns, particularly among black-African women of reproductive age. However, beyond the clinical burden, there is limited data on the extent to which fibroid-related symptoms impact patients' Quality of Life (QoL) in sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed the Symptoms-Related QoL of women with uterine fibroids at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana. This work appears to be the first study in our setting to investigate the subject. METHOD: We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study utilizing the validated Uterine Fibroid Symptom and Health-Related Quality of Life (UFS-QoL) questionnaire to collect data among women undergoing fibroid treatment at the largest referral hospital in Ghana between January and April 2023. Women 18years and above, diagnosed with uterine fibroids were included using a systematic random sampling, while those with other major concurrent gynaecological disorders such as endometriosis, ovarian cysts, cancers were excluded. Analysis focused on identifying the prevalent symptoms and complications associated with uterine fibroids and their impact on affected women's QoL. Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistical Software version 25. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participants' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Associations between sociodemographic variables and UFS-QoL scores were assessed using the Student t-test, Pearson correlation, and linear regression. Statistical significance was set at a p-value of less than 0.05. RESULTS: The mean symptom severity and QoL subscale scores were: Symptom Severity Score - 34.6 ± 13.6, Concern - 63.2 ± 18.3, Activities - 62.9 ± 17.4, Energy/Mood - 61.5 ± 15.5, Control - 58.7 ± 17.9, Self-conscious - 58.3 ± 20.1 and Sexual function score - 61.4 ± 23.5. Moderate-to-severe uterine fibroid-related symptoms were reported among 35% of the 163 participants; the most-worrisome symptom was heavy menstrual bleeding. Significantly, 83.4% of participants reported a moderate-to-severe impact of uterine fibroids on their QoL, with higher symptom severity correlating with lower health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) scores. There was a significant correlation between HR-QoL subscale scores and the overall HR-QoL score. There was no significant association between participants' sociodemographic characteristics and their symptom severity or HR-QoL scores. CONCLUSION: There was moderate to severe impairment in the quality of life of women with uterine fibroids. QoL impairment significantly correlated with the severity of the symptoms of fibroids. Clinical care should focus some attention on addressing QoL challenges due to uterine fibroids for improved well-being.