Pruritus and health-related quality of life in chronic liver disease: a longitudinal, survey-based cohort study

Objective: Cholestatic pruritus is commonly reported in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC); however, information on pruritus in other chronic liver diseases (CLDs) is limited. This survey-based cohort study characterised the severity, persistence and impact of pruritus in PBC, PSC, chronic hepatitis B or C virus infection (HBV/HCV), drug-induced liver injury, autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Here, we focus on groups that recruited the most participants: PSC, MASH and HCV. Results are presented in the context of PBC.

Methods: Adults with a CLD of interest from the USA, the UK, Canada and Germany were screened for the presence of pruritus via the worst-itch numerical rating scale (WI-NRS, 3-month recall) between January 2021 and January 2022. Enrolled participants (single liver disease, non-transplant recipients) self-reporting pruritus with no extrahepatic causes in the past 3 months (WI-NRS≥1) were eligible for further health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) assessments, including WI-NRS (2-week recall), 5-dimensional itch scale and version two of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey. Questionnaires were administered at baseline (month 0), month 3 and month 6.

Results: Of 717 screened participants, 40.4% (AIH)–72.7% (HCV) reported any pruritus. Of 403 eligible participants, 357 were enrolled. Time since onset of pruritus to enrolment ranged from 28.0 (MASH) to 77.5 months (PBC). Baseline WI-NRS scores ranged from 3.8 (MASH) to 5.1 (PSC). The most selected terms used to describe pruritus across all CLDs were ‘deep itch’ and ‘urgent itch’ (range: 53.7% (HCV)–77.0% (PSC)). Participants with more severe pruritus had worse HRQoL. Intimate relationships, emotional well-being and ability to concentrate were negatively impacted by pruritus. Pruritus persisted over the 6-month study period across all CLDs.

Conclusion: Our study highlights the burden of pruritus experienced by participants across CLDs, highlighting a need to improve symptom recognition and treatments focused on improving HRQoL.