Areas of decrement in health-related quality of life (HRQL): comparing the SF-12, EQ-5D, and HUI 3.
BACKGROUND
Different measures of health status and health-related quality of life (HRQL) have been advocated for different purposes at the clinical and population level. Relatively little is known about how these measures function in relationship to one another. We examined the relationship between the Short-Form 12 (SF-12), EQ-5D, and Health Utilities Index (HUI) Mark 3 for overall scores and in analogous domains of health. A convenience sample was obtained through surveying patients at an inner-city community health center.


RESULTS
The sample was comprised primarily of low-income racial/ethnic minorities; 393 patients were approached and 301 patients (77%) participated. The three measures had correlations between overall scores that ranged from 0.41 to 0.69 and correlations between similar domains from different measures that ranged from 0.42 to 0.59. For the HUI 3, 'any' impairment most frequently was noted with pain, vision, cognition, and emotion. For the EQ-5D, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression were reported as impaired most often. Compared to published population scores, participants reported impairments with increased frequency and at a greater level.


CONCLUSIONS
Participants demonstrated consistency with responses to similar types of items and correlations between related aspects of health were moderate to strong. Domains of health most often reported as impaired resembled those noted in national surveys. Despite differences in the structure of the measures, all three instruments capture information about decrements in broadly analogous domains of health.
Lubetkin
Erica I
EI
Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, The City University of New York Medical School, 138th Street and Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA. lubetkin@med.cuny.edu
Gold
Marthe R
MR
D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City; D011788:Quality of Life; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health