Assessment of quality of life: advantages and pitfalls.

There is increasing evidence that allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma impair the overall quality of life (QOL) of patients and place a great economic burden on both the individual and society as a whole. While conventional measures, such as a medical history and specific allergy tests, give an indication of the patient's disease and its burden, these may not reflect the disease status accurately or in its entirety. The development of disease-specific instruments (questionnaires) for measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of adults and children with AR, asthma, or co-morbid allergic disease, has led to the recognition that these instruments provide a more accurate estimate of the burden of disease, and additionally represent a formal and validated part of the history. Studies employing HRQOL instruments have indicated that these instruments are simple to administer and represent validated and quantifiable methods for taking a simple patient history. Despite some limitations, these instruments are thought to be particularly useful because they (i) provide additional information on various aspects of disease or treatment which are not readily identified by the clinician, (ii) give an insight into the burden and consequences of allergic disease and (iii) describe the relationship between the medical treatment and improvement in HRQOL, which appears to be the motive behind good compliance and patient satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]