Health-Related Quality of Life and Burden of Fatigue in Chinese Patients with Immune Thrombocytopenia: A Cross-Sectional Study

To describe the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and fatigue burden among adult patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in China and determine whether they vary with disease phase. This is a cross-sectional, multi-centre observational study of adult ITP patients and the general population. Participants completed the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F). We compared HRQoL and fatigue between ITP patients and the general population, overall and by disease phase (newly diagnosed, persistent, and chronic), using propensity score matching. 203 Patients and 269 members of the general population were recruited. Thirty-six ITP patients (17.7%) were newly diagnosed, 46 (22.7%) were persistent, and 121 (59.6%) were chronic. Compared with the general population, ITP patients had impaired HRQoL and greater fatigue burden. The persistent ITP group showed the largest number of SF-36 scales exceeding the minimally important difference: physical functioning [- 10.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) - 24.5 to 3.5; P < 0.001], role physical (- 16.7; 95% CI - 36.4 to 3.0; P < 0.001), social functioning (- 15.6; 95% CI - 34.5 to 3.3; P < 0.001), and role emotional (- 12.1; 95% CI - 26.0 to 1.8; P < 0.001). Chronic ITP patients had the worst FACIT-F scores (36.89 +/- 5.21). Higher fatigue severity was associated with lower physical and mental HRQoL. The HRQoL and fatigue burden of Chinese adult patients with ITP vary by disease phase. Persistent ITP patients were the most vulnerable subgroup in terms of HRQoL, while chronic ITP patients bear the heaviest fatigue burden.