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The COVID-19 pandemic and health-related quality of life across 13 high- and low-middle-income countries: A cross-sectional analysis

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  • Mara Violato
  • Jack Pollard
  • Andrew Lloyd
  • Laurence S J Roope
  • Raymond Duch
  • Matias Fuentes Becerra
  • Philip M Clarke

Abstract

Background: Most research on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) health burden has focused on confirmed cases and deaths, rather than consequences for the general population’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL). It is also important to consider HRQoL to better understand the potential multifaceted implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in various international contexts. This study aimed to assess the association between the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in HRQoL in 13 diverse countries. Methods and findings: Adults (18+ years) were surveyed online (24 November to 17 December 2020) in 13 countries spanning 6 continents. Our cross-sectional study used descriptive and regression-based analyses (age adjusted and stratified by gender) to assess the association between the pandemic and changes in the general population’s HRQoL, measured by the EQ-5D-5L instrument and its domains (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression), and how overall health deterioration was associated with individual-level (socioeconomic, clinical, and experiences of COVID-19) and national-level (pandemic severity, government responsiveness, and effectiveness) factors. We also produced country-level quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) associated to COVID-19 pandemic-related morbidity. We found that overall health deteriorated, on average across countries, for more than one-third of the 15,480 participants, mostly in the anxiety/depression health domain, especially for younger people (

Suggested Citation

  • Mara Violato & Jack Pollard & Andrew Lloyd & Laurence S J Roope & Raymond Duch & Matias Fuentes Becerra & Philip M Clarke, 2023. "The COVID-19 pandemic and health-related quality of life across 13 high- and low-middle-income countries: A cross-sectional analysis," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(4), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pmed00:1004146
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004146
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thomas Hale & Noam Angrist & Rafael Goldszmidt & Beatriz Kira & Anna Petherick & Toby Phillips & Samuel Webster & Emily Cameron-Blake & Laura Hallas & Saptarshi Majumdar & Helen Tatlow, 2021. "A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker)," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(4), pages 529-538, April.
    2. Andrew Briggs & Anna Vassall, 2021. "Count the cost of disability caused by COVID-19," Nature, Nature, vol. 593(7860), pages 502-505, May.
    3. Andrew H. Briggs & Daniel A. Goldstein & Erin Kirwin & Rachel Meacock & Ankur Pandya & David J. Vanness & Torbjørn Wisløff, 2021. "Estimating (quality‐adjusted) life‐year losses associated with deaths: With application to COVID‐19," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 699-707, March.
    4. Weiwei Ping & Jianzhong Zheng & Xiaohong Niu & Chongzheng Guo & Jinfang Zhang & Hui Yang & Yan Shi, 2020. "Evaluation of health-related quality of life using EQ-5D in China during the COVID-19 pandemic," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-12, June.
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