scholarly journals Socio-Economic Inequalities in Health-Related Quality of Life Among Iranian Adolescents

Author(s):  
Azam Maleki ◽  
Elham Faghihzadeh ◽  
Samaneh Youseflu ◽  
Shahram Arsang-Jang ◽  
Shahnaz Zamani barjasteh

Abstract Background: One of the main concerns of public health is increasing inequality of health status, that has adverse effect on people's life. The aim of the current study is to analyze the role of socio-economic factors as a predictor of health-related quality of life (QoL) among Iranian adolescence. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 576 adolescents aged 15 to 18 years, in Zanjan province from December 2020 to February 2021. The samples were selected using the Multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected by a demographic checklist, and KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS ver.16. The Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT) Version 4.0 (beta) was used to assess adolescents' QoL inequalities in terms of socio-economic subgroups. Result: The results show that, 27.2 adolescents had low quality of life. The score of physical and autonomy components of QoL were significantly more in male versus school environment in female students. Also, the asset, father's, and mother's education, and family income in female students, and the asset and family income in male students were significantly related with the quality-of-life (p<0.05). The risk of lower QOL in the poorest quintile was 1.32 times more than in the richest quintile. The consideration index of Asset in terms of sex was 4.5 and the modified Gini index was more than 0.5 in females and males. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the significant effects of socio-economic inequality on HRQL of Iranian adolescence. Requires a targeted policy approach to reach the poorest quintile for improving the quality of life of adolescents.

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Lédo ◽  
Indira Rodriguez-Prieto ◽  
Liliane Lins ◽  
Mansueto Gomes Neto ◽  
Carlos Brites

Background: Poor functional status can significantly affect Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of HIV patients. However, there is scarce information on the functional profile of such patients before starting antiretroviral therapy (ART). Objective: To estimate the association between health-related quality of life and physical functioning in Antiretroviral-Naive HIV-infected patients. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with HIV-infected patients older than 18 years, and naïve to antiretroviral therapy. The patients were evaluated for functional profile by pulmonary function (forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume at one second, and Tiffeneau index), handgrip strength, and six-minute walk test in a cross-sectional study. HRQoL was evaluated by the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey and its Physical (PCS) and Mental (MCS) Component Summaries. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the association of predictor variables with PCS and MCS scores. Results: We found lower HRQoL among females patients, with far below average impairment of mental health component. Both male and female patients presented lower 6MWD function test values. Patients with dynapenia were older than patients without it, presented lower PCS mean score, lower family income, poor 6 MWD function test, lower FVC, and lower FEV1 t. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that Grip Strength, age and family income were predictor variables for Physical component of HRQoL. Female gender and smoking habit were predictive for the mental component of HRQoL. Conclusion: HRQoL in HIV, drug-naïve patients is predicted by level of dynapenia, smoking, income and gender. Therefore, lifestyle changes and active exercising can help to improve HRQoL in such patients.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-124
Author(s):  
Thorbjörg Jonsdottir ◽  
Helga Jonsdottir ◽  
Sigridur Gunnarsdottir

Abstract Aims To investigate the use of Complimentary/Alternative therapy for chronic pain in nationwide sample. Methods In this cross-sectional study a postal questionnaire measuring socio-demographic variables (e.g. gender, education, income and residence), pain characteristics (severity and interference with daily life), health related quality of life and use of Complimentary/Alternative therapy for chronic pain, was sent to a sample of 4500 individuals randomly drawn from the national population of Iceland. The relationships between sociodemographic and pain related variables and pain related use Complimentary/Alternative therapy among participants reporting chronic pain (≥3 months) were tested. Results The prevalence of chronic pain (≥3 months) among respondents was 47.5%. Among participants reporting chronic pain, 45.5% (n = 343) reported having consulted some kind of Complimentary or Alternative therapy for their pain the previous six months and this was more prevalent among women than men. Most usual kind of therapists consulted was Acupuncturists (21.4%) and Chiropractors (18.3%). There were some gender differences in what kind of therapy people had consulted. Women were more likely than men to have consulted Acupuncturist while men consulted a Chiropractor more often than women. Logistic regression analysis showed that predictors for use of Complimentary/Alternative therapy for chronic pain were gender, urban residence and pain severity. The use of Complimentary/Alternative therapy was not related to education, family income or health related quality of life. Conclusions Women and urban residents are more likely than men and rural residents to seek Complimentary/Alternative therapy for chronic. People are more likely to seek Complimentary/Alternative care for chronic pain the more severe pain is.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-18
Author(s):  
Annisa Zahra Kawitri ◽  
Ratih Arruum Listiyandini ◽  
Rina Rahmatika

The purpose of thi study is to examine whether self-compassion can predict the level of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among adolescents who live in foster care. The study used quantitative method with cross-sectional design. The sample were 140 teenagers recruited using convenience sampling technique from several foster care in Bekasi and Jakarta. Self Compassion Scale (SCSC) and KIDSCREEN-27 instrument were used to measure the level of self-compassion and HRQoL. Regression test was found that the influence of self-compassion toward HRQoL is significant on the dimension of physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, parent relations and autonomy, and school environment. However, self-compassion did not have significant influence toward health-related quality of life on the dimension of social support and peers. The role of self-compassion toward HRQoL implied that adolescents living at foster care need to develop a compassionate attitude for theirself in order to achieve better HRQoL.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaojie Li ◽  
Yongtian Yin ◽  
Lijun Chen ◽  
Guanghui Cui ◽  
Jiaqin Li ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Older adults’ health literacy levels are crucial to improving health outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, the impact of eHealth literacy on HRQoL in older adults is unclear. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the association between eHealth literacy and HRQoL of older adults and provide reference for the development of network intervention measures related to the health quality of life of the older adults. METHODS An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,201 adults aged 60 or older from Jinan, China. The eHealth Literacy Scale and Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) were used to measure eHealth literacy and HRQoL. We used linear regression to test the adjusted association between eHealth literacy and HRQoL. RESULTS Most participants (88.9%) had inadequate eHealth literacy. Lower eHealth literacy was related to older age ( F=12.618, P<.001), female gender( t=3.303, P<.01), living in rural areas( F=11.356, P<.001), having less education( F=59.084, P<.001), being unmarried, divorced or widowed( t=4.416, P<.001), having a lower family income( F=38.017, P<.001), living with others(χ2=4.319, P<.05), and not having health insurance( F=12.713, P<.001). There were significant differences across physical functioning( t=-4.862, P<.001), role- physical( t=-2.485, P<.05), bodily pain( t=-3.470, P<.01), general health( t=-4.449, P<.001), vitality( t=-3.498, P<.001), role-emotional( t=-2.654, P<.01), mental health( t=-4.150, P<.001), physical component summary( t=-6.350, P<.001) and mental component summary( t=-4.483, P<.001) between adequate eHealth literacy and inadequate eHealth literacy. After controlling for age, gender, and other covariates, adequate eHealth literacy was positively related to physical component summary ( beta=7.6, P<.001) and mental component summary(beta=4.6, P=.001). CONCLUSIONS This study showed that Chinese older adults with higher eHealth literacy were more likely to contribute to higher HRQoL. Thus, Older adults’ eHealth literacy levels need to be taken into account when formulating health education and promotion programs for older adults, especially when the expected outcome is to improve HRQoL.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaqun Huang ◽  
Sha Yan ◽  
Hongfu Xie ◽  
Ben Wang ◽  
Zhixiang Zhao ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis with facial skin involved, leading to physical and emotional problems, which greatly affected quality of life (QoL) of patients. Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and willingness to pay (WTP) are well-established instruments assessing the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), while very few studies have been focused on this topic about rosacea in China. OBJECTIVE To investigate HRQoL in Chinese rosacea patients assessed by DLQI and WTP and investigate potential predictors for patients with HRQoL severely affected. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted on 973 patients with rosacea. Sociodemographic data, clinical features and DLQI were collected, and WTP was assessed by three standardized items. Multivariable logistic analysis was performed to investigate independent factors influencing QoL. RESULTS 921 questionnaires were accomplished by participants. The mean DLQI score was 11.6 (median 11). Patients were willing to pay an average of $1050.2 or € 896.2 (median $431.4 or € 368.1) for complete cure. 33.3% would like to pay more than 20% of their monthly income to achieve sustainable control. There were positive correlations between WTP with DLQI (P < .05). DLQI could be independently impacted by age (21-30 and 31-40, OR = 3.242 and 3.617, respectively), the occupational requirement of appearance (high, OR = 4.410), disease duration (< 2 years, OR = 1.582), oedema (OR = 1.844) and severity of flushing, burning, stinging and pruritus (severe, OR = 2.003, 1.981, 2.491, 2.249, respectively). There were no significant associations between WTP and most of the clinical factors. CONCLUSIONS The QoL was negatively affected and should not be ignored among rosacea patients in China. Patients aged 21-40y, having occupational requirement of appearance, with the disease duration less than 2 years, and suffering severe flushing and related symptoms were more likely to have severe or very severe limitation of QoL.


Author(s):  
Thomas Grochtdreis ◽  
Hans-Helmut König ◽  
Judith Dams

Global migration towards and within Europe remains high, shaping the structure of populations. Approximately 24% of the total German population had a migration background in 2017. The aim of the study was to analyze the association between migration background and health-related quality of life (HrQoL) in Germany. The analyses were based on 2014 and 2016 data of the German Socio-Economic Panel. Differences in sociodemographic characteristics between migrant and non-migrant samples were equal by employment of the entropy balancing weights. HrQoL was measured using the physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summary scores of the SF-12v2. Associations between PCS and MCS scores and migration background were examined using Student’s t-test. The mean PCS and MCS scores of persons with migration background (n = 8533) were 51.5 and 50.9, respectively. Persons with direct migration background had a lower PCS score (−0.55, p < 0.001) and a higher MCS score (+1.08, p < 0.001) than persons without migration background. Persons with direct migration background differed with respect to both physical and mental HrQoL from persons without migration background in the German population. Differences in HrQoL for persons with indirect migration background had p = 0.305 and p = 0.072, respectively. Causalities behind the association between direct migration background and HrQoL are to be determined.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huailiang Wu ◽  
Weiwei Sun ◽  
Hanqing Chen ◽  
Yanxin Wu ◽  
Wenjing Ding ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Pregnant women experience physical, physiological, and mental changes. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a relevant indicator of psychological and physical behaviours, changing over the course of pregnancy. This study aims to assess HRQoL of pregnant women during different stages of pregnancy. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed using the The EuroQoL Group’s five-dimension five-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) to assess the HRQoL of pregnant women, and demographic data were collected. This study was conducted in a regional university hospital in Guangzhou, China. Results A total of 908 pregnant women were included in this study. Pregnant women in the early 2nd trimester had the highest HRQoL. The HRQoL of pregnant women rose from the 1st trimester to the early 2nd trimester, and dropped to the bottom at the late 3rd trimester due to some physical and mental changes. Reports of pain/discomfort problem were the most common (46.0%) while self-care were the least concern. More than 10% of pregnant women in the 1st trimester had health-related problems in at least one dimension of whole five dimensions. In the whole sample, the EuroQoL Group’s visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) was 87.86 ± 9.16. Across the gestational stages, the HRQoL remained stable during the pregnancy but the highest value was observed in the 1st trimester (89.65 ± 10.13) while the lowest was in the late 3rd trimester (87.28 ± 9.13). Conclusions During pregnancy, HRQoL were associated with gestational trimesters in a certain degree. HRQoL was the highest in the early 2nd trimester and then decreased to the lowest in the late 3rd trimester due to a series of physical and psychological changes. Therefore, obstetric doctors and medical institutions should give more attention and care to pregnant women in the late 3rd trimester.


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