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. 2020 Dec 9;18(1):380.
doi: 10.1186/s12955-020-01625-4.

Racial/ethnic differences in health-related quality of life among Hawaii adult population

Eunjung Lim  1 , James Davis  2 , Chathura Siriwardhana  2 , Lovedhi Aggarwal  3   4 , Allen Hixon  4 , John J Chen  2
Affiliations

Racial/ethnic differences in health-related quality of life among Hawaii adult population

Eunjung Lim et al. Health Qual Life Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: This study examined racial/ethnic differences in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among adults and identified variables associated with HRQOL by race/ethnicity.

Methods: This study was conducted under a cross-sectional design. We used the 2011-2016 Hawaii Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data. HRQOL were assessed by four measures: self-rated general health, physically unhealthy days, mentally unhealthy days, and days with activity limitation. Distress was defined as fair/poor for general health and 14 days or more for each of the other three HRQOL measures. We conducted multivariable logistic regressions with variables guided by Anderson's behavioral model on each distress measure by race/ethnicity.

Results: Among Hawaii adults, 30.4% were White, 20.9% Japanese, 16.8% Filipino, 14.6% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI), 5.9% Chinese, 5.2% Hispanics, and 6.2% Other. We found significant racial/ethnic differences in the HRQOL measures. Compared to Whites, Filipinos, Japanese, NHPIs, and Hispanics showed higher distress rates in general health, while Filipinos and Japanese showed lower distress rates in the other HRQOL measures. Although no variables were consistently associated with all four HRQOL measures across all racial/ethnic groups, history of diabetes were significantly associated with general health across all racial/ethnic groups and history of depression was associated with at least three of the HRQOL measure across all racial/ethnic groups.

Conclusions: This study contributes to the literature on disparities in HRQOL and its association with other variables among diverse racial/ethnic subgroups. Knowing the common factors for HRQOL across different racial/ethnic groups and factors specific to different racial/ethnic groups will provide valuable information for identifying future public health priorities to improve quality of life and reduce health disparities.

Keywords: Andersen’s behavioral model; Health-related quality of life; Mental health; Physical health; Race/ethnicity; Self-rate general health.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors identify any conflict of interest and has no relevant or material financial interest related to this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) for health-related quality of life measures. A logistic regression analysis was conducted on distress of each health-related quality of life measure with race/ethnicity, adjusting for the BRFSS complex sampling design. a General Health. Distress was defined as fair/poor in general health. b Physical Health. Distress was defined as having ≥ 14 physically unhealthy days in past 30 days. c Mental Health. Distress was defined as having ≥ 14 mentally unhealthy days in past 30 days. d Activity Limitation. Distress was defined as ≥ 14 days with activity limitation in past 30 days. NHPI = Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander. +P value < 0.05. *P value < 0.01
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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