Health-related quality of life in elderly people with hypertension and the estimation of minimally important difference using EQ-5D-5L in Hong Kong SAR, China

Objective: This study examined health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in elderly patients with hypertension in Hong Kong (HK) by using EQ-5D-5L and estimated the minimally important difference (MID) of the EQ-5D-5L index score for this population. Method: We analysed secondary data from a population-based cross-sectional patient experience survey in HK. The EQ-5D-5L HK version was used to assess patients’ HRQoL. The mean EQ-5D index scores for different subgroups were evaluated by ANOVA. Tobit regression models were used to investigate the relationship between hypertension and HRQoL. An instrument-defined approach was adopted to estimate the MID of the EQ-5D-5L index score. Result: A total of 3,351 patients’ records met the selection criteria and were used in this study for our analysis. The mean age was 72.74 years, and 54.97% of respondents were female. The mean EQ-5D index score was 0.83. Most of the respondents (83.36%) reported having no problem with self-care. The Tobit regression model indicated that an increasing number of chronic conditions co-morbidity with hypertension contribute to a decrease in the EQ-5D index score. The overall MID estimate of the EQ-5D index score was 0.0917 and the adjusted MID was 0.0715. The MID estimates varied among respondents of different sexes and ages. Conclusion: The HRQoL and MID estimate of EQ-5D for elderly individuals with hypertension was reported, which provide valuable information for assisting health-care professionals in making clinical decisions in hypertensive care.