The relationship between the visual analog scale and the SF-36 scales in the general population: an update.
OBJECTIVE
To update the 1993 relationship between the visual analog scale (VAS) and the 8 SF-36 scales found in the Israeli Jewish urban population aged 45 to 75 years and reported in Medical Decision Making.


METHODS
Interviews with a sample of 2505 persons representing the same population in 2000 were used to estimate the above relationship.


RESULTS
The distributions of the VAS and the SF-36 8 scales were similar in 1993 and in 2000. In 2000, the Role-Emotional scale was not associated with the VAS, while the General Health scale proved to be its major determinant. Generally, the effects of the SF-36 scales on the VAS did not change between 1993 and 2000.


CONCLUSIONS
The relationship between the VAS and the SF-36 scales was found generally stable in the general population between 1993 and 2000, controlling for sociodemographic changes. The estimated relationship might be useful in predicting VAS scores from SF-36 scales in the general population.
Department of Health Management, The Hebrew University, POB 12272, Jerusalem, Israel. ashmueli@md2.huji.ac.il.
Amir
A
Shmueli
D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D007585:Jews / Q000523:psychology*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*