Health-related quality of life in Brazil: normative data for the SF-36 in a general population sample in the south of the country

Abstract

The objective of this study was to provide normative SF-36 scores in a general population sample in Brazil and to describe differences in mean scores according to socio-demographic characteristics. The SF-36 questionnaire was distributed to a randomly selected sample of the general population of Porto Alegre in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The response rate was 68% and 755 subjects were included (38% male, 62% female). Lower health status was revealed among females in the 30 to 44 year age bracket, from the lower income class, with less education and self-reported chronic medical conditions. The results and percentiles of scores of the SF-36 are reported as normative data for the general population. The SF-36 was an acceptable and practical instrument for measuring health-related quality of life in a sample of Brazilians. The results of this study can be useful for researchers using the SF-36 questionnaire in other groups to compare the scores with normative data. The SF-36 may prove a valuable tool for discovering vulnerable groups in epidemiological studies due to the ability to discriminate between different population subgroups.

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of yoruba version of the short-form 36 health survey

“…From this study, all scale scores showed negative skewness among the sample population, implying that respondents gave answers that tilt towards the positive end of the health spectrum. Skewness distribution of the Yoruba SF-36 scales follows a similar pattern to previous findings on SF-36 in Hong Kong [36], Australia [37], Netherland [30], New Zealand [41], Brazil [42], Malaysia [20] and Turkey [16] among others.…”

Morbidades referidas e qualidade de vida: estudo de base populacional

“…The results found showed that, in general, the average scores of eight domains were similar to the study of southern Brazil and to the research "Social Dimensions of Inequality" in Brazilian households, being higher only for the "limitations by social aspects" and "limitations by emotional aspects" domains 2,22 .…”

“…This perception includes not only the relation of the health-related factors, but also the more general aspects, such as income, freedom and quality of the environment 1,2 .…”

Influence of morbid obesity on physical capacity, knee-related symptoms and overall quality of life: A cross-sectional study

“…30 We found a significantly negative overall impact of morbid obesity on quality of life assessed by the SF-36 compared to the results observed in the general population. Compared to the SF-36 scores achieved in Brazil in a study by Cruz et al, 34 morbidly obese individuals presented significantly lower scores in all of the eight domains evaluated. Since obesity is strongly linked to several clinical comorbidities and also influences social-economical and psychological issues, this finding was expected.…”