Evidence map›Paper›PMID 10474286›Full record

SynthesisQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation1999

Distinguishing between quality of life and health status in quality of life research: a meta-analysis.

K W Smith, N E Avis, S F Assmann

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 1999. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 124 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
124citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

124 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Measurement properties of rheumatoid arthritis-specific quality-of-life questionnaires: systematic review of the literature.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2014
    Pooled it
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  6. The psychosocial correlates of quality of life in the dialysis population: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2012
    Pooled it
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  14. Treatment for depression and its relationship to improvement in quality of life and psychological well-being in multiple sclerosis patients.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2005
    Trial
  15. Determinants of health-related quality of life in long-term survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2004
    Trial
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64 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

K W SmithNew England Research Institutes.
N E Avis
S F Assmann

Funding

QUALITY OF LIFE ASSESSMENT IN PERSONS WITH AIDSR43AI032328 · NIAID · NEW ENGLAND RESEARCH INSTITUTES, INC. · PI AVIS, NANCY E · 1992 to 1992
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QUALITY OF LIFE ASSESSMENT IN PERSONS WITH AIDSR44AI032328 · NIAID · NEW ENGLAND RESEARCH INSTITUTES, INC. · PI AVIS, NANCY E · 1994 to 1995
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NIAID NIH HHS AI32328
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite the increasing acceptance of quality of life (QOL) as a critical endpoint in medical research, there is little consensus regarding the definition of this construct or how it differs from perceived health status. The objective of this analysis was to understand how patients make determinations of QOL and whether QOL can be differentiated from health status. We conducted a meta-analysis of the relationships among two constructs (QOL and perceived health status) and three functioning domains (mental, physical, and social functioning) in 12 chronic disease studies. Instruments used in these studies included the RAND-36, MOS SF-20, EORTC QLQ-30, MILQ and MQOL-HIV. A single, synthesized correlation matrix combining the data from all 12 studies was estimated by generalized least squares. The synthesized matrix was then used to estimate structural equation models. The meta-analysis results indicate that, from the perspective of patients, QOL and health status are distinct constructs. When rating QOL, patients give greater emphasis to mental health than to physical functioning. This pattern is reversed for appraisals of health status, for which physical functioning is more important than mental health. Social functioning did not have a major impact on either construct. We conclude that quality of life and health status are distinct constructs, and that the two terms should not be used interchangeably. Many prominent health status instruments, including utility-based questionnaires and health perception indexes, may be inappropriate for measuring QOL. Evaluations of the effectiveness of medical treatment may differ depending on whether QOL or health status is the study outcome.

Indexed as

Health StatusPsychometricsQuality of LifeLeast-Squares AnalysisMental HealthModels, PsychologicalSocial Adjustment

Identifiers

PMID10474286

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.