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Assessment of Health-related Quality of Life in Rare Kidney Stones

The purpose of this study is to learn about Health-related Quality Of Life (HRQoL) in patients enrolled in the Rare Kidney Stone Consortium (RKSC) registries. Quality of life studies look at different aspects of both physical and mental components of people's lives. HRQoL data for people affected by kidney stones are not currently available for people followed over time.

All participants enrolled in the RKSC registries will be invited, via email or postal mail, to participate in this study.

Health-related quality of life in people with rare kidney stones enrolled in the RKSC registries will be measured. Instruments used in this study are the SF-10 for pediatric participants and SF-36v2 for adult participants. The surveys will be completed online. Participants without a computer or internet access will participate using a paper version of the survey. These surveys will be done at enrollment and annually thereafter.

The SF-36v2 includes 36 questions and is estimated to take 15 minutes for its completion, while the SF-10 includes 10 questions and could be completed in 5 minutes.

The research questions are:

  1. Assessment of HRQoL in patients with rare kidney stones. Comparison of HRQoL results between rare kidney stone formers, general population and other populations with relevant chronic diseases.
  2. Comparison of HRQoL results in the same populations affected by different stones and analyzed with attention to the effects of various factors included in the disease registry, such as stone activity, burden of urologic interventions, medication and other treatments.
  3. Evaluation of HRQoL and its trends over time in patients undergoing treatment for rare kidney stones.

About this study:

The plan is to have 400 participants from all four registries take part in this multi-center study. The assessment of your HRQoL will be done annually for 5 years.