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. 2023 Sep 29;18(9):e0291427.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291427. eCollection 2023.

Quality of life in the general population of Mongolia: Normative data on WHOQOL-BREF

Enkhjin Bat-Erdene  1   2   3 , Tetsuya Hiramoto  4 , Enkhnaran Tumurbaatar  2   3 , Gantsetseg Tumur-Ochir  5 , Otgonbold Jamiyandorj  6 , Eiko Yamamoto  7 , Nobuyuki Hamajima  8 , Takakazu Oka  9 , Tsolmon Jadamba  3 , Battuvshin Lkhagvasuren  2   3   9
Affiliations

Quality of life in the general population of Mongolia: Normative data on WHOQOL-BREF

Enkhjin Bat-Erdene et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

No data on the quality of life (QOL) of the general population are available for Mongolia. This study aimed to determine normative data on the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) in the general population of Mongolia. This nationwide, population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in 48 sampling centers across Mongolia in 2020. We used the WHOQOL-BREF and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in our study and evaluated their associations with vital signs, body measurements, and lifestyle determinants. A total of 714 participants (261 men and 453 women) with a mean (standard deviation) age of 40.7 (13.2) years were recruited. The mean scores of WHOQOL-BREF subscales were 61.5 for physical health, 73.5 for psychological health, 70.1 for social relationship, and 67.2 for environmental health domains. The prevalence of poor QOL was 16.9% among the participants. Participants living in an apartment in urban areas with high HADS scores had a low QOL. All domains of WHOQOL-BREF were inversely correlated with anxiety score (r = -0.353 - -0.206, p < 0.001) and depression scores (r = -0.335 - -0.156, p < 0.001). Physical health was predicted by residency location, anxiety, and depression (R2 = 0.200, p < 0.001); psychological health by anxiety and depression (R2 = 0.203, p < 0.001); social relationship by residency location, age group, anxiety and depression (R2 = 0.116, p < 0.001); and environmental health by employment, anxiety, and depression (R2 = 0.117, p < 0.001). This is the first report on normative data on the QOL in the general population of Mongolia. Physical health was low compared with that determined using international data. Poor QOL was observed among those with mental health issues living in the urban areas.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Study flowchart and sampling sites.
a) Sampling sites across the country. The study consisted of 48 sampling centers, including 24 in 8 districts of Ulaanbaatar and 24 in 8 prefectures of 4 rural regions. b) Study flowchart: The required sample size was 770. We invited 924 individuals to participate in this study. Among them, 116 refused, and 94 participants were excluded due to the missing data. A total of 714 participants were included in the final analysis.
Fig 2
Fig 2. ROC curve of the WHOQOL-BREF domains.
AUC values were 0.78, 0.81, 0.71, and 0.80 for the physical health, psychological health, social relationship, and environmental health domains, respectively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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