Authors: Clémence Ramier, Virginia Hernandez-Gea, Laure Elkrief, Annalisa Berzigotti, Andrea De Gottardi, Antonina Antonenko, Audrey Payancé, Pierre-Emmanuel Rautou, Terhi Kangas, Hadewijch Vandenheede, Katrien Vanthomme, Gaël Brulé, Agnes Dumas, Aurélie Plessier, VALDIG consortium
Journal: JHEP Reports • 2026
Overview
This article presents the findings of the quantitative study of the LIVES project, involving 488 people living with vascular liver diseases across three European countries (France, Spain, and Switzerland) who completed questionnaires on their health-related quality of life, fatigue, and depressive symptoms.
Key findings
People living with vascular liver diseases reported a substantial disease burden. Health-related quality of life was significantly lower than in the French general population (although similar to the Spanish general population), and 24.8% of participants reported depressive symptoms. Among French patients, depressive symptoms were about three times more common than in the general population. Women and people experiencing financial difficulties were more likely to report poorer health-related quality of life, greater fatigue, and depressive symptoms. Lower health-related quality of life and greater fatigue were also associated with self-reported comorbidities and a history of hepatic encephalopathy, while anticoagulation therapy was associated with lower levels of fatigue and depressive symptoms.
These findings highlight the importance of providing care that addresses not only the medical aspects of the disease, but also patients’ psychological and social needs.