Establishing validity of EQ-5D-3L (Tagalog) to measure health-related quality of life states among adult Filipinos (20-50 years old)

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>OBJECTIVE: </b>To establish the validity of EQ-5D-3L in Tagalog language in assessing health-related quality of life states among adult Filipinos 20-50 years old.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>METHODS:</b> A face-to-face cross-sectional community survey of apparently healthy adult Filipinos (20-50 years old) in Metro Manila and in 4 nearby provinces (Bulacan, Batangas, Quezon, Rizal) was conducted. Trained interviewers administered the Tagalog language versions of EuroQoL 5-Dimension 3 Levels (EQ-5D-3L), Short-Form 2 (SF-26V2®), and a socio-economic questionnaire. All questionnaires were pre-tested for cultural appropriateness. Concurrent validity (against the SF-36v2R®) and known group validity of the EQ-5D-3L were evaluated.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>RESULTS:</b> Complete data from 3,056 participants were analyzed. Almost half of the participants reported perfect health on EQ-5D-3L and had higher scores on all SF-36v2® domains compared to those who reported some problems on EQ-5D-3L. Compared to participants who reported some problems on EQ-5D-3L mobility (or anxiety/depression), participants who reported no problem on EQ-5D-3L mobility (or anxiety/depression) reported lower SF-36v2® Physical Functioning (or Mental Health) scores (differences of 7.1 and 10 points, respectively) that were minimally important (i.e. exceeds 5 points). Participants with poorer self-reported health had considerably lower EQ-5D index scores (p < 0.05) irrespective of their socio-demographic characteristics.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>CONCLUSION:</b> EQ-5D-3L (Tagalog) demonstrated construct and known groups validity among adult Filipinos (20-50 years old).</p>

Prevalence of Frailty in Patients with Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fracture and Its Association with Numbers of Fractures

PURPOSE: To assess the association between frailty and osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) and to evaluate the relationship between numbers of OVCFs and frailty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 760 subjects, including 59 patients (with OVCF) and 701 controls (without OVCF). Successful matching provided 56 patient-control pairs. We analyzed principal clinical and demographic information, which included sex, age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), variable frailty phenotypes, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and EuroQol 5-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D) scores. The association between frailty and OVCF was ascertained. In addition, the degrees of disability and quality of life attributable to frailty were determined. RESULTS: The prevalence of frailty was significantly higher in the OVCF group than in the control group (p < 0.001). Most of the frailty phenotypes, such as exhaustion, physical inactivity, slowness, and handgrip strength, were also significantly observed in the OVCF group. Within the OVCF group, the participants with frailty had significantly higher disability and lower quality of life than those in a robust state (p < 0.001 for ODI and EQ-5D). In addition, the multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the patients with low BMI [odds ratio (OR)=0.704; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.543–0.913] and ≥3 fractures (OR=9.213; 95% CI, 1.529–55.501) within the OVCF group were associated with higher odds of frailty. CONCLUSION: The present study showed significant relationships between frailty and OVCF, severity of symptoms, and disability induced by OVCF. Furthermore, frailty could be a causal and/or resulting factor of OVCFs.

The relationship of quality of health-related life with the status of oral health in adults / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to use the components of the European Quality of Life-5 dimension (EQ-5D) scale to investigate the oral health status and health-related quality of life of adults in order to collect basic data on how to improve quality of life. METHODS: This study was conducted in 2014. Data from the 6th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (sixth term; 2 years) were analyzed by utilizing the raw information from the disease management headquarters. The 2,805 subjects were 19 to 59-year-old adults who were not missing values of the main missing value of oral health status in variables and the EQ-5D. Statistical analysis was performed by frequency analysis and chi-squared (χ2) and t-tests. Analysis of variance was performed using multiple regression analysis. The significance level was determined to be 0.05. RESULTS: Dental pain and mobility (P<0.005), pain and discomfort (P<0.005), chewing problems and speaking discomfort, anxiety and depression (P<0.05), subjective oral health awareness, mobility (P<0.001), self-care (P<0.05), usual activities (P<0.05), pain and discomfort (P<0.005) were significantly related. In the effect on the components of the EQ-5D by logistic regression analysis, gender, age, education level, household income, chewing problems, and periodontal disease prevalence were significant variables in the quality of health-related life. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that oral health status significantly influenced the quality of life in adults. Through the recognition of the impact of oral health on health-related quality of life, we expect that the data from this study will help promote the development of oral health and oral health education programs for the maintenance and promotion of adult health.

Correlation between Oral Health Condition and Life Quality Related to General Health Using EuroQol-5 Dimension / 치위생과학회지

With change in the pattern of disease occurrence and increase in the interest in health, efforts to assess the health status on patients covering their subjective awareness at the same time as clinical and objective evaluation on health are continued. To measure health-related quality of life can be one of these efforts. This study was performed to evaluate the relevance of the quality of overall health-related-life and oral health condition. Also the second year (2014) materials in the 6th the National Health and Nutrition Survey were applied to this study. The factors affecting general health related quality of life measured by EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ-5D) have been confirmed by gender, age, education level, income level, private health insurance, perceived health status, toothache experience during the last 1 year, remaining tooth number. As oral health plays an important role in determining the overall health conditions, objective oral health state influences the whole body health. Hence, it can be regarded that oral health is ultimately related to the general health-related quality of life.

Comparison of the Effects of a Brand-name Drug and Its Generic Drug on the Quality of Life of Alzheimer's Disease Patients

OBJECTIVE: The pharmacological effects of generic (GE) donepezil are the same as Aricept, its brand-name counterpart. However, little is known as to whether these two drugs provide the same quality of life (QOL). The study subjects were patients with Alzheimer's disease who were taking donepezil hydrochloride tablets, and were selected by visiting either the local pharmacies or the patients' homes. We chose the brand-name drug Aricept and its GE form donepezil to investigate, from a long-term caregiver's perspective, the influence of both drugs on the patients' QOL. METHODS: An EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) was used to assess the QOL of patients with Alzheimer's disease, before and after various Aricept and/or donepezil regimens. Patients were divided into four groups: first time users of Aricept (n=43), first time users of GE donepezil (n=45), users refilling previous prescriptions of Aricept (n=51), and users switching from Aricept to GE donepezil (n=51). RESULTS: The average change in the EQ-5D utility indices rose significantly in the patients starting a new regimen of Aricept and its GE drug. The patients continuing an existing regimen of Aricept showed no significant differences, even after Aricept was switched to a GE drug. CONCLUSION: The QOL of patients starting a new regimen of Aricept and its GE drug improved. The QOL was maintained upon switching to the GE drug form.

A study on the OHIP-14 of some local women impact on the EQ-5D for review / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to analyze the OHIP-14 (Oral Health Impact Index) and EQ-5D (health-related quality of life) scores for women in some areas, and to provide basic data as the basis for oral health and systemic health-related quality of life methods improving. METHODS: The subjects included 418 women aged 20-65 years, living in Busan and Gyeongnam between July 20 and September 30, 2014. RESULTS: OHIP-14 and EQ-5D scores increased with age and educational level; scores were lower in subjects with systemic disease and those with a non-professional occupation. Increased oral health awareness and recognition are both bad health, menopause oral health in one person was related to quality of life, and health-related quality of life scores were significantly lower (P<0001). When considering the oral care OHIP-14 score for more than a year and a time in the scaling 56.07 points, if not receiving was found as a factor affecting the OHIP-14 with 53.33 points (P<0.05), OHIP-14. Higher EQ-5D indicated a significant difference (P<0.001). The OHIP-14 score for factors affecting oral health behavior, depression score, menopause, dry mouth, monthly income, presence of systemic disease, and dentures showed a significant difference for body weight (P<0.01). Significant differences in EQ-5D scores were found for systemic diseases, subjective general health, depression score, and menopause score (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: OHIP-14 and EQ-5D will be helpful in the development of oral care and oral health education programs for women.

Health Inequality Measurement in Korea Using EuroQol-5 Dimension Valuation Weights / 예방의학회지

OBJECTIVES: Despite various government initiatives, including the expansion of national health insurance coverage, health inequality has been a key health policy issue in South Korea during the past decade. This study describes and compares the extent of the total health inequality and the income-related health inequality over time among Korean adults. METHODS: This study employs the 1998, 2001 and 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANESs). The self-assessed health (SAH) ordinal responses, measured on a five-point scale, rescaled to cardinal values to measure the health inequalities with using interval regression. The boundaries of each threshold for the interval regression analysis were obtained from the empirical distribution of the EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) valuation weights estimated from the 2005 KNHANES. The final model predicting the individuals' health status included age, gender, educational attainment, occupation, income, and the regional prosperity index. The concentration index was used to measure and analyze the health inequality. RESULTS: The KNHANES data showed an unequal distribution of the total health inequality in favor of the higher income groups, and this is getting worse over time (0.0327 in 1998, 0.0393 in 2001 and 0.0924 in 2005). The income-related health inequality in 2005 was 0.0278, indicating that 30.1% of the total health inequality can be attributed to income. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate there are health inequalities across the sociodemographic and income groups despite the recent government's efforts. Further research is warranted to investigate what potential policy actions are necessary to decrease the health inequality in Korea.