Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety and depression in patients with ureteral stricture: a multi-institutional study

Purpose To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety and depression levels in patients with ureteral stricture (US) and to further investigate factors independently affecting this. Methods We prospectively recruited a cohort of 275 consecutive patients with US between June 2020 and April 2021. The participants were required to provide complete sociodemographic, clinical and pathologic information. All patients were administered questionnaires to evaluate HRQoL, anxiety and depression. Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to assess the contribution of covariates on HRQoL, anxiety and depression. Results Patients with US, particularly iatrogenic US, scored significantly lower than the Chinese general population in all domains of the SF-36 (all p < 0.001), except SF. Increased age, female and high education attainment were independently associated with poor HRQoL. Interestingly, iatrogenic US, nephrostomy tube placement, urinary symptoms, high anxiety and depression level independently predicted poor HRQoL. Furthermore, the percentages of anxiety and depression cases in patients with US were 31.3% and 20.7%, respectively. Iatrogenic US and urinary symptoms, specifically waist discomfort, were the strongest predictors of increased levels of anxiety and depression. Conclusion Patients with US exhibited poor quality of life and emotional status. Various factors independently predicted worse HRQoL and emotion, which provide potential targets for medical, lifestyle-related, psychological interventions.