ArticlePopulation health metrics2018
Head-to-head comparison between the EQ-5D-5L and the EQ-5D-3L in general population health surveys.
Article in Population health metrics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Psychometric properties of the EQ-5D-5L: a systematic review of the literature.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2021Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness of the ReDIRECT/counterweight-plus weight management programme to alleviate symptoms of long COVID.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- Cost-utility and cost consequence of a telehealth intervention targeting improvement in addictive eating for Australian adults (the TRACE program).Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2024Trial
- Long-term analysis of adalimumab in Japanese patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa: Open-label phase 3 results.The Journal of dermatology · 2021Trial
- Psychometric properties comparison between EQ-5D-5L and EQ-5D-3L in the general Thai population.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2020Trial
- Measurement properties of EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L in recording self-reported health status in older patients with substantial multimorbidity and polypharmacy.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2020Trial
- Is EQ-5D-5L better than EQ-5D-3L? A comparison of descriptive systems and utility scores in patients with kidney chronic disease.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Measuring health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis: comparing the acceptability, validity and responsiveness of the EQ-5D-3L and MSIS-8D.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- The Impact of Activated Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase δ Syndrome (APDS) on Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL): Elicitation of Health State Utility Values Through Time Trade-Off (TTO) and EQ-5D.Advances in therapy · 2025Article
- Integrating Extended Reality Into Primary Care Chronic Pain Programs: A Real-World Feasibility Study of the REDOCVR Intervention.JMIR XR and spatial computing · 2025Article
- A Comparison of the Psychometric Properties of the EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L Using Paediatric Multi-Instrument Comparison (P-MIC) Study Data.PharmacoEconomics · 2024Article
- Scale agreement, ceiling and floor effects, construct validity, and relative efficiency of the PROPr and EQ-5D-3L in low back pain patients.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2023Article
- Normative profile of the EQ-5D-5L dimensions, EQ-5D-5L index and EQ-VAS scores for the general Thai population.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Population norms for the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L in Romania.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2023Article
- Social inequalities in mental and physical health derived from the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain beyond SARS-CoV-2 infection.International journal for equity in health · 2023Article
- Feasibility and validity of the EQ-5D-3L in the elderly Europeans: a secondary data analysis using SHARE(d) data.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2022Article
- Health Inequalities by Sexual Orientation: Results from the 2016-2017 Barcelona Health Survey.LGBT health · 2022Article
- Comparison of EQ-5D-3L and 5L versions following operative fixation of closed ankle fractures.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2022Article
- Psychometric properties of the PROMIS Preference score (PROPr) in patients with rheumatological and psychosomatic conditions.BMC rheumatology · 2022Article
- Comparing the measurement properties of the EQ-5D-5L and the EQ-5D-3L in hypertensive patients living in rural China.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe EQ-5D has been frequently used in national health surveys. This study is a head-to-head comparison to assess how expanding the number of levels from three (EQ-5D-3L) to five in the new EQ-5D-5L version has improved its distribution, discriminatory power, and validity in the general population.
methodsA representative sample (N = 7554) from the Catalan Health Interview Survey 2011-2012, aged ≥18, answered both EQ-5D versions, and we evaluated the response redistribution and inconsistencies between them. To assess validity of this redistribution, we calculated the mean of the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), which measures perceived health. The discriminatory power was examined with Shannon Indices, calculated for each dimension separately. Spanish preference value sets were applied to obtain utility indices, examining their distribution with statistics of central tendency and dispersion. We estimated the proportion of individuals reporting the best health state in EQ-5D-5L and EQ-5D-3L within groups of specific chronic conditions and their VAS mean.
resultsA very small reduction in the percentage of individuals with the best health state was observed, from 61.8% in EQ-5D-3L to 60.8% in EQ-5D-5L. In contrast, a large proportion of individuals reporting extreme problems in the 3 L version moved to severe problems (level 4) in the 5 L version, particularly for pain/discomfort (75.5%) and anxiety/depression (66.4%). The average proportion of inconsistencies was 0.9%. The pattern of the perceived health VAS mean confirmed the hypothesis established a priori, supporting the validity of the observed redistribution. Shannon index showed that absolute informativity was higher in the 5 L version for all dimensions. The means (SD) of the Spanish EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L indices were 0.87 (0.25) and 0.89 (0.22). The proportion of individuals with the best health state within each specific chronic condition was very similar, regardless of the EQ-5D version (≤ 30% in half of the 28 chronic conditions).
conclusionAlthough the proportion of individuals with the best possible health state is still very high, our findings support that the increase of levels provided by the EQ-5D-5L contributed to the validity and discriminatory power of this new version to measure health in general population, as in the national health surveys.
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