Abstract
Background
Measures of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have been used to assess the health of populations. This study examined the comparability of two HRQOL measures, the Healthy Days and the EuroQol EQ-5D, in the general US adult population.
Method
Data were from the 2000–2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Using a descriptive and ecological design, we compared variations in mean unhealthy days (UD) and EQ-5D scores by sociodemographic and health characteristics, and compared the effect of these variables on both measures using multivariate linear regressions.
Results
Both UD and EQ-5D scores showed worse health for females than males, for blacks and Hispanics than whites, for those with lower educational attainment, for both underweight and overweight people, and for those with worse self-rated health, higher severity of activity limitation, and the presence of any disease. Both measures also had similar effect sizes for these selected variables.
Conclusions
The UD and EQ-5D scores revealed a similar pattern according to sociodemographic variables and clinical factors. This study supports the validity of both sets of measures in assessing the health of adult populations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2003). MEPS HC-050 2000 full year consolidated data file. Rockville, MD: AHRQ. Retrieved September 15, 2006 from http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data/pufs/h50/h50doc.pdf.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2006). MEPS fact sheet. Rockville, MD: AHRQ. Retrieved September 15, 2006 from http://www.ahrq.gov/data/mepsix.htm.
Andersen, C. K., Wittrup-Jensen, K. U., Lolk, A., Andersen, K., & Kragh-Sorensen, P. (2004). Ability to perform activities of daily living is the main factor affecting quality of life in patients with dementia. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2, 52.
Andresen, E. M., Fouts, B. S., Romeis, J. C., & Brownson, C. A. (1999). Performance of health-related quality of life instruments in a spinal cord injured population. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 80(8), 877–884.
Brooks, R., Rabin, R. E., & de Charro, F. (Eds.) (2003). The measurement and valuation of health status using EQ-5D: A European Perspective. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.
Burström, K., Johannesson, M., & Diderichsen, F. (2001). Swedish population health-related quality of life results using the EQ-5D. Quality of Life Research, 10(7), 621–635.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2000). Measuring Healthy Days. Atlanta, GA: CDC. Retrieved September 14, 2006 from http://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/pdfs/mhd.pdf.
Cohen, S. B. (2003). Design strategies and innovations in the medical expenditure panel survey. Medical Care, 41(7 Suppl), III5–III12.
Elliot, M. R., & Davis, W. W. (2005). Obtaining cancer risk factor prevalence estimates in small areas: combining data from two surveys. Applied Statistics, 54(3), 595–609.
Fleishman, J. A. (2005). Demographic and clinical variations in health status. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2005. MEPS Methodology Report No 14. AHRQ Pub. No. 05-0022.
Franks, P., Lubetkin, E. I., Gold, M. R., Tancredi, D. J., & Jia, H. (2004). Mapping the SF-12 to the EuroQol EQ-5D Index in a national U.S. sample. Medical Decision Making, 24(3), 247–254.
Frazier, E. L., Franks, A. L., Sanderson, L. M. (1992). Using Behavioral Risk Factor surveillance data. In: Using chronic disease data: A handbook for public health practitioners. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4, 1–4.17.
Gulis, G. (2000). Life expectancy as an indicator of environmental health. European Journal of Epidemiology, 16(2), 161–165.
Jia, H., & Lubetkin, E. I. (2005). The impact of obesity on health-related quality-of-life in the general adult US population. Journal of Public Health (Oxf), 27(2), 156–164.
Johnson, J. A., & Coons, S. J. (1998). Comparison of the EQ-5D and SF-12 in an adult US sample. Quality of Life Research, 7(2), 155–166.
Kind, P., Dolan, P., Gudex, C., & Williams, A. (1998). Variations in population health status: results from a United Kingdom national questionnaire survey. BMJ, 316(7133), 736–741.
Lubetkin, E. I., & Gold, M. R. (2003). Areas of decrement in health-related quality of life (HRQL): comparing the SF-12, EQ-5D, and HUI 3. Quality of Life Research, 12(8), 1059–1067.
Lubetkin, E. I., Jia, H., Franks, P., & Gold, M. R. (2005). Relationship among sociodemographic factors, clinical conditions, and health-related quality of life: examining the EQ-5D in the U.S. general population. Quality of Life Research, 14(10), 2187–2196.
Mokdad, A. H., Stroup, D., & Giles, W. (2003). Public health surveillance for behavioral risk factors in a changing environment. Recommendations from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Team. MMWR, 52(No. RR-9), 1–12.
Moriarty, D. G., Zack, M. M., & Kobau, R. (2003). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Healthy Days Measures—population tracking of perceived physical and mental health over time. Health Qual Life Outcomes, 1, 37.
Nelson, D. E., Powell-Griner, E., Town, M., & Kovar, M. G. (2003). A comparison of national estimates from the National Health Interview Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. American Journal of Public Health, 93(8), 1335–1341.
Newschaffer, C. J. (1998). Validation of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) HRQOL Measures in a Statewide Sample. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Rabin, R., & de Charro, F. (2001). EQ-5D: A measure of health status from the EuroQol Group. Annals of Medicine, 33(5), 337–343.
SAS Institute Inc (2004). SAS/STAT® User’s Guide, Version 9. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.
Shaw, J. W., Johnson, J. A., & Coons, S. J. (2005). US valuation of the EQ-5D health states: Development and testing of the D1 valuation model. Medical Care, 43(3), 203–220.
Siderowf, A., Ravina, B., & Glick, H. A. (2002). Preference-based quality-of-life in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Neurology, 59(1), 103–108.
Sullivan, P. W., Lawrence, W. F., & Ghushchyan, V. (2005). A national catalog of preference-based scores for chronic conditions in the United States. Medical Care, 43(7), 736–749.
Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., & Dewey, J. E. (2000). How to Score Version Two of the SF-36 Health Survey. Lincoln, RI: QualityMetric Inc.
Ware, J. Jr., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S. D. (1996). A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Medical Care, 34(3), 220–233.
Ware, J. E., Snow, K. K., Kosinski, M., & Gandek, B. (1993). SF-36® Health survey manual and interpretation guide. Boston, MA: New England Medical Center, The Health Institute.
Weintraub, W. S., Foster, J., Culler, S. D., et al. (2004). Methods for the economic and quality of life supplement to the cilostazol for RESTenosis (CREST) trial. Journal of Invasive Cardiology, 16(5), 257–259.
World Health Organization (1948). Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19–22 June 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.
Wu, A. W., Jacobson, K. L., Frick, K. D., et al. (2002). Validity and responsiveness of the EuroQol as a measure of health-related quality of life in people enrolled in an AIDS clinical trial. Quality Life Research, 11(3), 273–282.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jia, H., Lubetkin, E.I., Moriarty, D.G. et al. A Comparison of Healthy Days and EuroQol EQ-5D Measures in Two US Adult Samples. Applied Research Quality Life 2, 209–221 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-008-9039-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-008-9039-5