Negative illness perceptions are associated with impaired quality of life in patients after long-term remission of Cushing's syndrome

ObjectiveIllness perceptions pertain to the pattern of beliefs patients develop about their illness. Illness perceptions are determinants of quality of life (QoL). Factors contributing to persisting impaired QoL after Cushing's syndrome (CS) remain largely unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore illness perceptions, as potentially modifiable psychological factors, in relation to QoL in patients with long-term remission of CS.DesignCross-sectional study.MethodsWe included patients with long-term remission of CS (n=52). Illness perceptions were evaluated using the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ)-Revised, and QoL was measured using the physical symptom checklist, EuroQoL-5D (EQ-5D), and the CushingQoL. Reference data were derived from recent studies and included patients with vestibular schwannoma (n=80), acute (n=35) or chronic (n=63) pain, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; n=171).ResultsIllness perceptions showed a strong correlation with QoL. Patients with CS scored distinctively more negative on the IPQ compared with patients with vestibular schwannoma and patients with acute pain, and also reported more illness-related complaints (all P