Predictors of health-related quality of life in patients with non-communicable diseases: A national cross-section study

Contrasting socioeconomic inequality with noncommunicable diseases: Insights from a population-based survey using the concentration index in Kong cohort study

Background

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the major causes of mortality across the globe, which impose a substantial burden on health care systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The present study aimed to determine socioeconomic inequality in the prevalence of NCDs using the concentration index (CI).

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on the baseline data of the Bandar Kong cohort. The principal component analysis was used to determine people's socioeconomic status (SES). The CI and Lorenz Curve were used for the assessment of socioeconomic inequality. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between SES and the prevalence of NCDs. A p Value less than 0.05 is considered significant.

Results

Frequency and prevalence of diabetes was 653 (16.22%), hypertension 848 (21.06%), chronic lung diseases 161 (4%), epilepsy 70 (1.74%), mental disorders 191 (4.74%), stillbirth 299 (13.94%), thyroid disorders 391 (9.71%) and depression 146 (3.63%). CI for the prevalence of diabetes was [-0.107, %95 CI: -0.146 to -0.068], hypertension [-0.122, %95 CI: -0.155 to -0.088], chronic lung disease [-0.116, %95 CI: -0.202 to -0.03], psychiatric disorders [-0.230, %95 CI: -0.304 to -0.155], depression [-0.132, %95 CI: -0.220 to-0.043] and stillbirth [-0.162, %95 CI: -0.220 to -0.105]. The Gini index was negative for all these diseases, indicating that these are significantly concentrated in people of poor SES.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that selected NCDs were concentrated among the poor and the low-income. Particular attention may be necessary to address the problem of NCDs among these groups.

Quality of Life and Adherence to Healthcare Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Purpose

To determine the relationship of various domains of quality of life (QoL) with healthcare adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

The study sample comprised 795 participants among which 203 had a current diagnosis of any major NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, asthma, chronic pulmonary diseases, and chronic psychiatric illnesses and a control group of 592 participants who had no NCD. Participants completed an online survey questionnaire which obtained data on socio-demographic variables, types of NCDs, and healthcare adherence during the year 2020, the period during which Saudi Arabia underwent the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) assessed the QoL in four domains physical, psychological, social and environmental and used standard scores in the analysis. GraphPad Prism 5 and SPSS 25V were employed for the statistical analysis. Bar graphs and frequency distribution tables present descriptive data. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were computed to determine the significance of the relationship between QoL and healthcare adherence.

Results

Almost equal proportions of participants with NCDs (n=109/203; 54%) and without NCDs (n=327/592; 55%) demonstrated nonadherence to their regular healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic (χ2=0.14; p=0.71). Patients with NCDs experienced lower quality of life in the psychological, social and environmental domains of QoL (p<0.05). Results from the multivariate regression analysis showed that female gender (AOR=1.52; p<0.05) psychological QoL (AOR=1.99; p<0.05), social QoL (AOR=1.98; p<0.05) and environmental QoL (AOR=1.95; p<0.05) significantly relate with adherence to healthcare.

Conclusion

Psychological, social and environmental may influence healthcare adherence among patients with NCDs during pandemics and should be focused on while devising future healthcare policy and interventions.