Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38409033›Full record

ArticleHealth and quality of life outcomes2024

Health inequity assessment in Brazil: is EQ-5D-3L sensible enough to detect differences among distinct socioeconomic groups?

Bernardo Rangel Tura, Milene Rangel da Costa, Sylvia Lordello, Danillo Barros, Yuri Souza, Marisa da Silva Santos

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Article in Health and quality of life outcomes, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

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4citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Measuring inequality in quality of life: Why the EQ-5D may underestimate it.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025
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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Bernardo Rangel TuraCentre of Health Technology Assessment, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Milene Rangel da CostaCentre of Health Technology Assessment, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Sylvia LordelloInstituto Dara, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Danillo BarrosInstituto Dara, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Yuri SouzaInstituto Dara, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Marisa da Silva SantosCentre of Health Technology Assessment, National Institute of Cardiology, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. marisaccih@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMultidimensional health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments, such as the EQ-5D, are increasingly used to assess inequalities in health. However, it is necessary to explore the ability of these instruments to capture differences between population groups, especially in low/middle-income countries. This study aimed to investigate whether the EQ-5D-3L instrument can detect differences in HRQOL between groups of different socioeconomic status (SES) in Brazil.

methodsData collection occurred during the Brazilian EQ-5D-3L valuation study and included respondents aged 18 to 64 years enrolled in urban areas. SES was aggregated into three categories: "higher" (A and B), "intermediate" (C) and "lower" (D and E). EQ-5D-3L index was calculated considering the Brazilian value set. A mixed-effects regression model was estimated with random effects on individuals and marginal effects on SES, sex, and educational attainment. Odds ratios for the chance of reporting problems for each EQ-5D dimension were estimated by logistic regression.

resultsA total of 9,148 respondents were included in the study. Mean age was 37.80 ± 13.13 years, 47.4% were men and the majority was ranked as classes B or C (38.4% and 50.7%, respectively). Participants in lower SES classes reported increasingly poorer health compared to individuals in higher classes. The mean EQ-5D-3L index decreased as SES deteriorates being significantly higher for classes A and B (0.874 ± 0.14) compared to class C (0.842 ± 0.15) and classes D and E (0.804 ± 0.17) (p < 0.001). The same was observed for the mean EQ-VAS scores (84.0 ± 13.8 in classes A and B, 81.0 ± 17 in class C and 78.3 ± 18.7 in class C [p < 0.001]). The multivariate analysis confirmed that SES is an independent factor that effects EQ-5D-3L index measures. Participants in intermediate and lower SES classes have a statistically significant lower EQ-5D-3L index compared to participants in classes A and B, regardless of age, sex, and educational attainment.

conclusionIn a Brazilian population sample, the EQ-5D-3L instrument was able to detect important differences between groups with distinct socioeconomic statuses (SES). The EQ-5D-3L is useful for exploring inequities in health.

Indexed as

Health StatusQuality of LifeAdultBrazilFemaleHealth InequitiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedSocial ClassSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultEQ-5D-3LEquityEuroQolHealth inequityHealth-related quality of lifeSelf-reported healthSociodemographic indicators

Identifiers

PMID38409033
PMCPMC10898160

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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.