Subjective health status and health values in the general population

Amir Shmueli*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective. To explore the relationship between rating-scale evaluation of health-related quality of life ('health value') and two subjective evaluations of health: the SF-36 profile and the five-category perception of general health (excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor). Methods. This relationship was explored by linear and nonlinear regression analysis of data obtained through face-to-face interviews with a sample of 2,030 persons aged 45-75 years representing the Israeli Jewish urban population in that age group. Results. The main outcome is a mapping assigning health values to the subjective health-status scores, e.g., 'good' general health is equivalent to a health value of 76-81, depending on the functional form of the relation. 'Poor' health is equivalent to a value of 45-61. The R2 is about 0.3. While the eight scales of the SF-36 were found to be linearly related to health value (R2 = 0.51), the two summary measures - physical component scale (PCS) and mental component scale (MCS) - were not. The scales measuring general health, vitality, and physical functioning were the main determinants of health value, while the role-performance scales were insignificant. The PCS had a larger effect than the MCS. Discussion. These relationships provide deeper insight into the structure and meaning of the two health-status measures in the general population. They also place earlier determinations of these relationships among sick persons in a broader context and raise several further questions regarding the relationship between health values and health status.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)122-127
Number of pages6
JournalMedical Decision Making
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1999

Keywords

  • Box-Cox regression
  • Health value
  • Health-related quality of life
  • MOS SF- 36
  • Rating scale
  • Subjective evaluation of health

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