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

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.

Anxiety, depression, and brain overwork in the general population of Mongolia

“…While some households within Ulaanbaatar's ger areas have transitioned to conventional houses, comprehensive central utility systems, apart from electricity, remain lacking. Our previous study found that urban dwellers, particularly those in ger areas, experience lower physical quality of life compared to their rural counterparts 35 . These findings emphasize the need for targeted interventions and support services for urban dwellers, particularly who live in ger areas.…”

Psychometric properties of the Mongolian version of shitsu-taikan-sho (alexisomia) in young adults

“…The observed disparity may stem from cultural differences, as more than a third of Mongolian citizens lead a nomadic lifestyle, distinct from an urbanized lifestyle. 25 Another contributing factor might be the fear and anxiety instigated by the COVID-19 pandemic that peaked during the research. 26 – 28 This phenomenon might have influenced higher scores in specific symptom-related items, such as fever or fatigue.…”

Delving into Causal Discovery in Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaires

“…There are multiple examples in the literature where HRQoL questionnaires have been employed. For example, EQ-5D-5L has been employed by the authors of [17][18][19][20], SF-36 by [21][22][23][24], WHOQOL-BREF by [25][26][27], EORTC QLQ-C30 by [28][29][30][31], QLQ-CLL17 by [31], and FACT-based questionnaires by [32][33][34][35][36]. The analysis of HRQoL data is most frequently based on descriptive statistics, standard correlation analysis, and inferential statistics (see, e.g., [37]).…”

“…The analysis of HRQoL data is most frequently based on descriptive statistics, standard correlation analysis, and inferential statistics (see, e.g., [37]). For instance, the correlation (Pearson, Spearman) between HRQoL scores and demographic, clinical, biological, and other parameters was assessed by the authors of [18,23,[25][26][27]29,35,36]. HRQoL scores were compared either among different subgroups of patients [17,18,21,22,24,30,32] or between the subgroups of patients and controls [20,22,23,25,27,31].…”