Maxwell Sarah P
Department of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA.
J Patient Exp. 2020 Dec;7(6):1621-1626. doi: 10.1177/2374373520926821. Epub 2020 May 26.
This study was designed to determine the quality of life, diagnostic, and illness-related experiences of patients who self-report a diagnosis with Lyme disease (LD) and/or who are experiencing chronic illness in Texas, a state considered non-endemic for tick-borne illness. This exploratory study found that self-reported LD respondents have multisystem health problems that result in very poor quality of life. Lyme disease respondents experience multiple and severe symptoms, particularly flu-like illness, extreme fatigue, back and neck pain, and anxiety and depression. These symptoms were present at similar levels among all LD respondents, whether their diagnosis was clinical or serological. For all LD respondents, this study points to quality of life experiences that are powerfully negative. Practitioners and disease surveillance experts may consider LD when multisystem symptoms are severe, other etiologies are ruled out, and quality of life is threatened.
本研究旨在确定自我报告患有莱姆病（LD）和/或在德克萨斯州患有慢性病的患者的生活质量、诊断情况以及与疾病相关的经历。德克萨斯州被认为不是蜱传疾病的流行地区。这项探索性研究发现，自我报告患有莱姆病的受访者存在多系统健康问题，导致生活质量非常差。莱姆病受访者经历多种严重症状，特别是流感样疾病、极度疲劳、背部和颈部疼痛以及焦虑和抑郁。无论诊断是临床诊断还是血清学诊断，所有莱姆病受访者的这些症状水平相似。对于所有莱姆病受访者来说，本研究指出了生活质量经历呈现出强烈的负面情况。当多系统症状严重、其他病因被排除且生活质量受到威胁时，从业者和疾病监测专家可能会考虑莱姆病。
