Health-related quality of life among adults who experienced maltreatment during childhood.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to assess the difference in a preference-based measure of health among adults reporting maltreatment as a child versus those reporting no maltreatment.


METHODS
Using data from a study of adults who reported adverse childhood experiences and current health status, we matched adults who reported childhood maltreatment (n = 2812) to those who reported no childhood maltreatment (n = 3356). Propensity score methods were used to compare the 2 groups. Health-related quality-of-life data (or "utilities") were imputed from the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey using the Short Form-6D preference-based scoring algorithm.


RESULTS
The combined strata-level effects of maltreatment on Short Form-6D utility was a reduction of 0.028 per year (95% confidence interval=0.022, 0.034; P<.001). All utility losses for the childhood-maltreatment versus no-childhood-maltreatment groups by age group were significantly different: 18-39 years, 0.042; 40-49 years, 0.038; 50-59 years, 0.023; 60-69 years, 0.016; 70 or more years, 0.025.


CONCLUSIONS
Persons who experienced childhood maltreatment had significant and sustained losses in health-related quality of life in adulthood relative to persons who did not experience maltreatment. These data are useful for assessing the cost-effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent child maltreatment in terms of cost per quality-adjusted life years saved.
Corso
Phaedra S
PS
Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, N125 Paul Coverdell Center, Athens, GA 30602-7397, USA. pcorso@uga.edu
Edwards
Valerie J
VJ
Fang
Xiangming
X
Mercy
James A
JA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002140:California; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology