[The effect of anogenital warts on life quality of affected patients].

INTRODUCTION Anogenital warts represent a clinical manifestation of the infection of the lower female genital tract, human papilloma viruses types 6 and 11. They belong to the group of sexually transmitted diseases and then may be localized either on the female or male genitalia. The aim of the study was to show the effect of anogenital warts on life quality of the affected patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted on 200 female patients using the standardized questionnaire filled in by patients under the researcher's supervision immediately before laser wart removal. Each question out of 15 could be answered by one of the suggested answers: always, almost always, sometimes, rarely and never. The answer "always" was worth one point, "almost always" two points, "sometimes" three points, "rarely" four points and never "five" points. Life quality was categorized as bad, tolerable, good, very good and excellent. The lower number of points in the questionnaire indicated the worse life quality and the higher number of points demonstrated a better life quality. RESULTS The study results showed that the highest number of subjects was in the third and fourth decade of life. The presence of anogenital warts had an effect on life quality in most patients. 5% of subjects assessed their life quality as bad, 16% as tolerable, 45% as good and 23% as very good. Only in 11% of patients the presence of anogenital warts did not have any effect on life quality (chi2 = 121.680, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION The presence of anogenital warts has a significant effect on life quality of affected patients, indicating the significance of their early detection and treatment.