title: Race and preference-based health-related quality of life measures in the United States.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health-related quality of life instruments (HRQoL) are widely used to produce measures that summarize population health and to inform decision-making and health policy. Although the literature about the relationship between health and race in the United States is quite extensive, there is a lack of studies that comprehensively examine the relationship between race and preference-based HRQoL. Given the widespread use of these measures, it becomes important to understand the extent of the race differences in HRQoL scores and factors associated with any such differences.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the differences in HRQoL, between blacks and whites and associated factors, using the summary scores of the SF-6D, EQ-5D, QWB-SA, HUI2, HUI3, administered by telephone to a nationally representative sample of 3,578 black and white US adults between the ages of 35 and 89 in the National Health Measurement Study (NHMS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Black women had substantially lower HRQoL than white women. The difference was largely explained by sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables. Black men did not differ significantly from white men, except for the EQ-5D. HRQoL among black men was higher at higher income levels, while the HRQoL of black women was especially low compared to other groups at high income levels.
authors.affiliation: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Departamento de Administração e Planejamento em Saúde, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões 1480, sala 724 Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21041-210, Brazil. pereirac.claudia@gmail.com
authors.forename: Claudia C A
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palta
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mullahy
authors.forename: Dennis G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Fryback
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data