Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Jul 21:8:246.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-8-246.

Health-related quality of life among general practice patients with differing chronic diseases in Germany: cross sectional survey

Hong-Mei Wang  1 , Martin Beyer, Jochen Gensichen, Ferdinand M Gerlach
Affiliations

Health-related quality of life among general practice patients with differing chronic diseases in Germany: cross sectional survey

Hong-Mei Wang et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: This study was carried out to compare the HRQoL of patients in general practice with differing chronic diseases with the HRQoL of patients without chronic conditions, to evaluate the HRQoL of general practice patients in Germany compared with the HRQoL of the general population, and to explore the influence of different chronic diseases on patients' HRQoL, independently of the effects of multiple confounding variables.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey including the SF-36, the EQ-5D and demographic questions was conducted in 20 general practices in Germany. 1009 consecutive patients aged 15-89 participated. The SF-36 scale scores of general practice patients with differing chronic diseases were compared with those of patients without chronic conditions. Differences in the SF-36 scale/summary scores and proportions in the EQ-5D dimensions between patients and the general population were analyzed. Independent effects of chronic conditions and demographic variables on the HRQoL were analyzed using multivariable linear regression and polynomial regression models.

Results: The HRQoL for general practice patients with differing chronic diseases tended to show more physical than mental health impairments compared with the reference group of patients without. Patients in general practice in Germany had considerably lower SF-36 scores than the general population (P < 0.001 for all) and showed significantly higher proportions of problems in all EQ-5D dimensions except for the self-care dimension (P < 0.001 for all). The mean EQ VAS for general practice patients was lower than that for the general population (69.2 versus 77.4, P < 0.001). The HRQoL for general practice patients in Germany seemed to be more strongly affected by diseases like depression, back pain, OA of the knee, and cancer than by hypertension and diabetes.

Conclusion: General practice patients with differing chronic diseases in Germany had impaired quality of life, especially in terms of physical health. The independent impacts on the HRQoL were different depending on the type of chronic disease. Findings from this study might help health professionals to concern more influential diseases in primary care from the patient's perspective.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of the EQ-5D self-classified health states of patients in German general practice.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The SF-36 scale scores for patients in general practice and those for the general population in Germany.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Starfield B. Primary care: balancing health needs, services, and technology. New York: Oxford University Press; 1998.
    1. Green LA, Fryer GE, Jr, Yawn BP, Lanier D, Dovey SM. The ecology of medical care revisited. N Engl J Med. 2001;344:2021–2025. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200106283442611. - DOI - PubMed
    1. White KL, Williams TF, Greenberg BG. The ecology of medical care. N Engl J Med. 1961;265:885–892. - PubMed
    1. Wensing M, Vingerhoets E, Grol R. Functional status, health problems, age and comorbidity in primary care patients. Qual Life Res. 2001;10:141–148. doi: 10.1023/A:1016705615207. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hemmilä HM. Quality of life and cost of care of back pain patients in Finnish general practice. Spine. 2002;27:647–653. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200203150-00015. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types