Back to Journals » ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research » Volume 2

Impact of disability on different domains of health-related quality of life in the noninstitutionalized general population

Authors Mar J, Larrañaga I, Arrospide A, Begiristain JM

Published 14 July 2010 Volume 2010:2 Pages 97—103

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/CEOR.S10709

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2



Javier Mar1,2, Isabel Larrañaga3, Arantzazu Arrospide1, José María Begiristain3

1Research Unit, Hospital Alto Deba, Navarra 16, Mondragón, Spain; 2Clinical Management Unit, Hospital Alto Deba, Navarra 16, Mondragón, Spain; 3Gipuzkoa Health Authority, Basque Government, Sancho El Sabio 35, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

Abstract: The relationship between disability and health related quality of life (HRQL) is complex because of the role that function plays in the measurement, and certain points need to be dealt with in greater detail when the analysis is applied to the different dimensions of HRQL. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of disability on different domains of quality of life. Variables were drawn from the 2002 Basque Country Health Survey. Logistic regression models were constructed to measure the adjusted effect of disability on quality of life as ­determined by the SF-36 questionnaire. The models were adjusted for sociodemographic variables and the presence of comorbidity. The greatest difference between disabled and ­nondisabled subjects was found in the physical components of the questionnaire. Odds Ratios (ORs) for a suboptimal level of quality of life as determined by functional status were much higher for the physical than for the mental dimensions. Adjustment for different variables showed a decrease in ORs in the physical, mental, and social dimensions. This study establishes a significant relationship between disability and the loss of quality of life in both physical and mental dimensions of SF-36, irrespective of the associated disease.

Keywords: quality of life, disability, health status, SF-36

Creative Commons License © 2010 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.