Estimating population norms for the health-related quality of life of adults in southern Jiangsu Province, China

Although national health-related quality of life population norms had been published based on the EuroQol 5-Dimensions 5-levels scale, China is a vast country with diverse cultural and social development in various regions. Therefore, regional population norms may better reflect the health status of residents in a given area. The purpose of the study was to derive the HRQoL population norm for adult general population in southern Jiangsu Province using the EQ-5D-5L scale and explore potential influencing factors. The data were based on a cross-sectional survey conducted in Liyang City from March 2019 to July 2020. EQ-5D-5L utility scores based on Chinese value set and EQ-VAS scores were used to assess HRQoL. The Tobit regression model and generalized linear model were performed to identify the association among potential covariates and HRQoL. The means (95% confidence interval) of the EQ-5D-5L utility scores and EQ-VAS scores were 0.981(0.980–0.983) and 83.6(83.2–83.9), respectively. Younger people (≤ 40 years old) were more likely to experience problems with anxiety or depression. Additionally, women had lower HRQoL scores although multivariate analysis found no statistical difference between the sexes. Lower HRQoL was associated with advanced age, lower socioeconomic status, no spouse, lack of regular physical activities, smoking cessation, and chronic non-communicable diseases. Subjects who declared that they were afflicted by diseases presented significantly lower utility scores, ranging from 0.823 (0.766–0.880) for memory-related diseases to 0.978 (0.967–0.989) for hepatic diseases. Regional population norms of HRQoL are needed in the health economic study owing to the great socioeconomic differences across regions in China. The present study provides HRQoL population norms for adults in southern Jiangsu. These norm values could help policy makers better allocate limited health resources and prioritize service plans.