Quality of Life among General Populations of Different Countries in the Past 10 Years, with a Focus on Human Development Index: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The current study was conducted to estimate the integrated mean of Quality Of Life (QOL) of the general population of different countries around the world and to compare them on the grounds of the Human Development Index (HDI). METHODS: Well-known international databases such as Medline, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar & Google, and domestic databases including SID, IranMedex, Irandoc & Magiran were searched in 2015. The data were analyzed with the Random Effect Model, using Stata 11 software. RESULTS: Ninety-seven studies were selected for the final analysis. The overall QOL mean in the very high HDI subgroup was 74.26 (CI=72.40–76.12), which was the highest value. The lowest mean score was observed in the psychological domain (M=67.37; CI=66.23–68.52). In the high HDI subgroup, the highest mean was observed in the social relationships domain (M=64.16; CI=61.99–66.34), and the lowest mean was observed in the environment domain (M=58.76; CI=56.50–61.03). In the medium HDI subgroup, the highest mean was calculated for the overall QOL score (M=62.62; CI=56.35–68.92), and the lowest mean was estimated for the environment domain (M=56.98; CI=53.54–60.43). The highest mean in the low HDI subgroup was observed in the physical health domain (M=68.17; CI=67.43–70.52), and the lowest mean was calculated for the environment domain (M=53.14; CI=51.57–54.72). There was considerable heterogeneity in all the subgroups and domains; the values reported here are the weighted means of QOL for different countries. CONCLUSION: Overall, the highest means of various QOL domains were observed in the very high HDI subgroup.