J Korean Rheum Assoc.  2004 Sep;11(3):254-262.

Health-Related Quality of Life using EQ-5D in Koreans

• Seong SS
• Choi CB
• Sung YK
• Park YW
• Lee HS
• Uhm WS
• Kim TW
• Jun JB
• Yoo DH
• Lee OY
• Bae SC

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
There has been no data on health related quality of life (HRQOL) in general Korean population. Assessing factors affecting HRQOL in Koreans is fundamental in HRQOL research. The objective of this study is to assess HRQOL in Korean using Korean version of EQ-5D (KEQ-5D).
METHODS
HRQOL was assessed using KEQ-5D from 1,044 randomly selected population representing general Korean population with telephone interview RESULT: The mean KEQ-5D utility score in Korean was 0.88 (range: -0.59~1.00). Sociodemographic data showed relatively higher score in male, younger, well educated, higher income, and white color people. Among a variety of diseases, gastric ulcer/gastritis, arthritis, hypertension diabetes, low back pain were common in Korea. The most significant chronic diseases influencing Koreans were gastrointestinal disorder and arthritis.
CONCLUSION
This paper suggests basic information on HRQOL in Korean and can be a useful parameter in comparison in the future research.

Keyword

Health-related Quality of Life; EQ-5D utility score; Korean

MeSH Terms

Arthritis
Chronic Disease
Humans
Hypertension
Interviews as Topic
Korea
Low Back Pain
Male
Quality of Life*
Stomach Diseases