Wish-Qol Study - Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and Health-Economic Aspects in Patients with Von Willebrand Disease (VWD) in France: Results of the Women Cohort

Background: Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is the most common inherited bleeding disorder with a prevalence of 1% in the general population. VWD results from a deficiency in or a dysfunction of von Willebrand factor which is a protein that is necessary for normal platelet adhesion and protection of factor VIII from proteolysis in the circulation. Nevertheless, prevalence of the most symptomatic forms such as bleeds requiring replacement treatment and /or hospitalization is about 0.01%. Although VWD affects both genders, there is a higher proportion in females than in males.VWD seems to be more symptomatic in women because of their reproductive life. Women with VWD have an increased bleeding risk in numerous situations including anemia, menorrhagia, bleeding during pregnancy, postpartum hemorrhage and impairments in their quality of life (QoL).The prevalence of menorrhagia in women with VWD is 74-92%. According to the Francecoag Network, the referral-based prevalence of moderate-to-severe VWD patients is about 1,750 cases in France.

Aim: Since the disease and its treatment can affect every-day life of patients and their families, a French HRQoL Study (WiSH-QoL) exploring this impact started 22 months ago.

Methods: This non-interventional 5-year study evaluates patients HRQoL and costs of care in France. At least 350 patients will be followed for 24 months in minimum 30 centers. HRQoL is assessed with the generic SF-36 and the disease-specific VWD-QoL questionnaires. Bleeding severity was measured using the Tosetto Bleeding Score (BS).

Results: Since October 2014, 245 patients have been included. We present here the first interim analysis with a focus on the female group. At the first interim analysis, data from 140 patients were documented: 91 adults with a median age of 40.0 years [18.3-78.0] and 49 children with a median age of 10.1 years [2.9-17.5]. VWD Types were already identified for 122 (87%) of these patients: 33 with VWD type 1 (27%) including 5 type 1 Vicenza; 76 type 2 (62%) and 13 type 3 (11%). The median Tosetto bleeding score reported for 124 patients (males and females) was +7 ranging from -1 to +28.

From the 95 female patients, 70 were aged ≥18 years, 21 were adolescents between 8-17 years and 4 were girls below 4 years of age. Median age was 29.4 (range 4.3-78.0) years. A total of 25 women had type 1 VWD (31%), 49 had type 2 VWD (60%), and 7 had type 3 VWD (9%), for 14 patients VWD type is undetermined. The median Tosetto bleeding score of the female group was +8 ranging from -1 to +28.

Out of 95 patients, 45 patients (47.4%) have received a concomitant treatment due to menorrhagia, such as iron therapy, oral contraceptive, levonorgestrel intrauterin system: 5/21 patients in the group between 8 and 17 years and 40/70 in the group ≥18 years. Out of the 60 women of childbearing potential defined as age between 15-50 years, 6 women were pregnant at time of inclusion. A total of 46 patients, aged 18 years or more have had obstetrical history prior to study inclusion. The mean number of childbirth was more than 2 i.e 2.39 range (1-8) per woman, 75% of these deliveries were natural delivery and 25% were caesarean section. Out of 108 deliveries, 28 (26%) were experienced with post-partum hemorrhages.

Conclusions: With the results of the WiSH-QoL study, the first prospective study of von Willebrand disease conducted in France, especially the VWD-specific evaluation of HRQoL and treatment satisfaction a deeper insight will be gathered into the patients' daily life, their perception of well-being and their specific health care needs. With the additional domain 'pregnancy' included in the French version of the VWD-QoL questionnaire for female adult patients, it will possible to better understand how women may be affected by VWD during childbearing years.