Abstract 16014: Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Heart Failure is Worse Than in Patients With Cancer: Analysis of the Medicare Health Outcomes Survey 2016-2020

Abstract

Background: People with heart failure (HF) experience impaired physical and mental health. However, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in people with HF to those with cancer, another condition that impacts HRQOL, have not been directly compared in a contemporary population. Research Question: How does HRQOL compare in people with HF to those with lung, colon, breast, or prostate cancer? Methods: We performed a pooled analysis of Medicare Health Outcomes Survey data between 2016-2020 in participants ≥65 years with a self-reported history of HF or active treatment for lung, colon, breast, or prostate cancer using two HRQOL measures. The Veterans RAND-12 generates the physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS), which range from 0-100 with a mean score of 50 (based on general US population), a standard deviation of 10, and a lower score representing worse health. We used pairwise t-tests to evaluate for differences in PCS and MCS by group. We used chi-squared to compare the distribution of days with poor physical or mental health in the past 30 days as measured by CDC Healthy Days core questions. Results: Compared to participants with lung, colon, breast, or prostate cancer, participants with HF (n=71,025; 54% female, 16% Black) had lower mean PCS and MCS ( Figure ; P<0.001 for HF vs each cancer). The distribution of unhealthy days differed across disease groups (all P<0.001). Over half (52%) of participants with HF reported ≥10 physically unhealthy days, which is higher than those with lung (51%), colon (41%), breast (31%), or prostate cancer (28%). Nearly one-third (32%) of participants with HF reported ≥10 mentally unhealthy days, which is higher than those with lung (28%), colon (25%), breast (21%), or prostate cancer (20%). Conclusions: People with HF on average experience worse HRQOL than those with cancer. The pervasiveness of low HRQOL in HF underscores the need to implement evidence-based interventions to improve physical and mental health.