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. 2024 Dec 19;18(12):e0012739.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012739. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Health-Related Quality of Life due to malaria in the Brazilian Amazon using EQ-5D-3L

Mônica Viegas Andrade  1   2 , Kenya Valeria Micaela de Souza Noronha  1   2 , Gilvan Ramalho Guedes  1 , Nayara Abreu Julião  1   2 , Lucas Resende de Carvalho  1 , Aline de Souza  1 , Valéria Andrade Silva  1 , Andre Soares Motta-Santos  1   2 , Henrique Bracarense  1 , Cássio Peterka  3 , Marcia C Castro  4
Affiliations

Health-Related Quality of Life due to malaria in the Brazilian Amazon using EQ-5D-3L

Mônica Viegas Andrade et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by protozoa of the genus Plasmodium. Despite of the progress in malaria control in the last decades, malaria remains a major public health problem, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality in tropical and subtropical countries. Among American countries, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Brazil account for 73% of the cases. In Brazil, the majority of malaria cases is concentrated in Amazon region. This study estimated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) losses due to malaria in endemic areas of the Brazilian Amazon using the EQ-5D-3L instrument. We collected data from a convenience sample of 1,179 individuals aged 18 years or older. To measure the HRQoL loss, we matched individuals from the treatment group (with recent malaria) to those from the control group (without recent malaria) using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and compared the difference in mean health utility between the groups. The results show a significant loss of HRQoL due to malaria. The mean utility was 0.69 and 0.83 for the treatment and control groups, respectively, representing a loss of quality of life of approximately 16.3% for individuals with recent malaria episodes. These findings underscore the importance of effective malaria prevention and treatment strategies, especially in areas where adverse socioeconomic conditions and a challenging epidemiological context exacerbate the impact of the disease. Continued investment in malaria control programs and improved access to health services are essential to mitigate the negative impact of this disease on the quality of life of affected populations.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Municipalities of the Brazilian Amazon selected for the study sample.
Note: Maps were created using the ggplot2 package within R environment, version 4.4.0. The base map used is derived from an openly available IBGE shape file source (https://www.ibge.gov.br/geociencias/organizacao-do-territorio/malhas-territoriais.html).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Demographic distribution of the interviewed individual.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Histograms of the estimated propensity scores by treatment status.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Distribution of individuals according to the EQ-5D-3L dimension and level of severity for treatment and control groups.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Cumulative distribution of VAS scores for treatment and control groups.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Cumulative distribution of EQ-5D-3L health states for treatment and control groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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