title: Health-related quality of life in Brazil: normative data for the SF-36 in a general population sample in the south of the country.
abstract: The objective of this study was to provide normative SF-36 scores in a general population sample in Brazil and to describe differences in mean scores according to socio-demographic characteristics. The SF-36 questionnaire was distributed to a randomly selected sample of the general population of Porto Alegre in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The response rate was 68% and 755 subjects were included (38% male, 62% female). Lower health status was revealed among females in the 30 to 44 year age bracket, from the lower income class, with less education and self-reported chronic medical conditions. The results and percentiles of scores of the SF-36 are reported as normative data for the general population. The SF-36 was an acceptable and practical instrument for measuring health-related quality of life in a sample of Brazilians. The results of this study can be useful for researchers using the SF-36 questionnaire in other groups to compare the scores with normative data. The SF-36 may prove a valuable tool for discovering vulnerable groups in epidemiological studies due to the ability to discriminate between different population subgroups.
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Instituto de Avaliação de Tecnologias em Saúde, R. Ramiro Barcelos 2350, Porto Alegre, RS. lncruz@hcpa.ufrgs.br
authors.forename: Luciane Nascimento
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Marcelo Pio de Almeida
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Fleck
authors.forename: Michele Rosana
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Suzi Alves
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Camey
authors.forename: Juliana Feliciati
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Angela Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bagattini
authors.forename: Carisi Anne
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Polanczyk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires