Kathleen Handley

This study reports the reliability and validity of the distress subscale of the GERD Symptom Assessment Scale (GSAS) and the acute SF-36 Health Survey in a clinical trial setting. Patients with moderately severe GERD completed the GSAS and SF-36 at baseline and four weeks following treatment. The age (mean +/- SD) of the 187 patients was 45.5 +/- 11.1 years and most were female (63%) and Caucasian (78%). All scales met the 0.70 reliability criterion except for the SF-36 bodily pain scale. Mean baseline GSAS scores were significantly (P < 0.001) poorer by 10-17% among patients reporting more severe levels of all symptoms. Mean baseline SF-36 physical component summary scores were significantly (P < 0.02) poorer among patients reporting more severe levels of regurgitation, early satiety, bloating, and nausea. Patients reporting complete and satisfactory heartburn relief reported improvements in GSAS scores that were 13% and 10% greater, respectively, than patients who did not ex...

People with severe mental illnesses often require help not only with managing their illness, but with a broad array of social and domestic activities. The impacts of the presence of such needs in several domains of function on quality of life ratings in the same domains are assessed ...