Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37351701›Full record

Observational studyQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2023

Health-related quality of life among people who inject drugs in Australia.

Qinglu Cheng, Sahar Bajis, Evan Cunningham, Sophy T F Shih, Marcel Schulz, Alison D Marshall, Natasha K Martin, Alec Miners, Behzad Hajarizadeh, Virginia Wiseman and 2 more

Open access · hybridAbstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Estimating the health-related quality of life burden attributable to illicit drug use in Australian adults.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026
    Article
  2. Drug Use-related Problems Are Associated with Poorer Health-related Quality of Life: A Community Study of Korean Adults.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Patterns of Health-related Quality of Life in Men Who Inject Drugs: A Survey in Southeast Iran.Journal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi · 2024
    Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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

12 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Qinglu Cheng *The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. qcheng@kirby.unsw.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3701-8760
Sahar Bajis *The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Evan CunninghamThe Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Sophy T F ShihThe Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Marcel SchulzSt Vincent's Clinical School, UNSW Medicine, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Alison D MarshallThe Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Natasha K MartinDivision of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Alec MinersDepartment of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Behzad HajarizadehThe Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Virginia WisemanThe Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Gregory J DoreThe Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Jason GrebelyThe Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
UNSW Sydney · AULondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBSt Vincent's Hospital Sydney · AUUniversity of California San Diego · US

Funding

National Health and Medical Research Council 1103165
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThere is limited research on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people who inject drugs (PWID). We aimed to evaluate factors associated with HRQoL among a cohort of PWID in Australia.

methodsParticipants were enrolled in an observational cohort study (the LiveRLife Study) between 2014 and 2018 at 15 sites in Australia. They provided fingerstick whole-blood samples for point-of-care HCV RNA testing and underwent transient elastography to assess liver disease. Participants completed the EQ-5D-3L survey at enrolment. Regression models were used to assess the impact of clinical and socioeconomic characteristics on the EQ-5D-3L scores.

resultsAmong 751 participants (median age, 43 years; 67% male), 63% reported injection drug use in the past month, 43% had current HCV infection, and 68% had no/mild liver fibrosis (F0/F1). The mean EQ-5D-3L and EQ-VAS scores were 0.67 and 62, respectively, for the overall study population. There was no significant difference in the EQ-5D-3L scores among people with and without recent injecting drug use (mean: 0.66 vs. 0.68, median: 0.73 vs. 0.78, P = 0.405), and among people receiving and not receiving opioid agonist therapy (mean: 0.66 vs. 0.68, median: 0.73 vs. 0.76, P = 0.215). Participants who were employed were found to have the highest mean EQ-5D-3L (0.83) and EQ-VAS scores (77). The presence of current HCV infection, liver fibrosis stage, and high-risk alcohol consumption had little impact on HRQoL.

conclusionsThe study findings provide important HRQoL data for economic evaluations, useful for guiding the allocation of resources for HCV elimination strategies and interventions among PWID.

Indexed as

Drug UsersHepatitis CSubstance Abuse, IntravenousAdultAustraliaFemaleHumansLiver CirrhosisMaleQuality of LifeSurveys and QuestionnairesEQ-5D-3LHealth-related quality of lifeHepatitis CLiver fibrosisPeople who inject drugs

Identifiers

PMID37351701
PMCPMC10522523
OpenAlexW4381716485

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.