Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25331014›Full record

Observational studyQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2015

The relationship between economic characteristics and health-related quality of life in newly diagnosed cancer patients in Southeast Asia: results from an observational study.

Merel Kimman, Stephen Jan, Helen Monaghan, Mark Woodward

Abstract readObservational Study
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In one paragraph

Observational study in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

14 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. A Systematic Literature Review of Health Utility Values in Breast Cancer.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2022
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
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  6. Review
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  8. Observational
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  11. A Meta-Regression Analysis of Utility Weights for Breast Cancer: The Power of Patients' Experience.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Health-related quality of life among Indigenous Australians diagnosed with cancer.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2016
    Article
  14. Article
4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Merel KimmanThe George Institute for Global Health, PO Box M201, Missenden Rd, Sydney, NSW, 2050, Australia, mkimman@georgeinstitute.org.au.
Stephen Jan
Helen Monaghan
Mark Woodward

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWe investigate whether cancer patients' economic characteristics are independent determinants of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in low- and middle-income settings to identify priorities for health policy and research.

methodsA cross-sectional survey of 9,513 cancer patients from Southeast Asia provided data on demographics, economic status and HRQoL. HRQoL was measured using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EQ-5D. Information on cancer site and stage was collected using the patients' medical records. Multiple linear regression analysis estimated the relative impact of economic characteristics (i.e. health insurance, employment status, household income and economic hardship) on HRQoL.

resultsAll economic characteristics were significant independent determinants of HRQoL, when we controlled for demographic and clinical characteristics. Economic hardship was found to be most important. The adjusted mean differences in HRQoL scores between patients who had experienced economic hardship in the year before diagnosis compared to patients who did not were -5.6, -6.7, -7.3 and -0.06, respectively, for global health, physical function, emotional function and the EQ-5D index (all p values <0.001). Subgroup analyses showed that this significant result for economic hardship as a predictor of poor HRQoL was consistent across all age groups, for males and females, and across all levels of education.

conclusionsLiving in poor economic circumstances before a cancer diagnosis is associated with greatly impaired HRQoL after diagnosis. There is wide scope for research on innovative interventions that provide low-cost and targeted support aimed to improve health outcomes of disadvantaged cancer patients in low- and middle-income settings.

Indexed as

AgedAsia, SoutheasternCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHealth PolicyHumansIncomeInsurance, HealthMaleMedical RecordsMiddle AgedNeoplasmsPovertyQuality of LifeVulnerable Populations

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Registered trials

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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.