Patients' Self-Reported Disability Weights of Top-Ranking Diseases in Thailand: Do They Differ by Socio-Demographic and Illness Characteristics?

Jiraluck Nontarak,Sarah Callinan,Sawitri Assanangkornchai

doi:10.3390/ijerph17051595

Abstract

Little is known about the impact of methodological decisions on estimating disability weights among patients with mental and physical disorders, and the effects of socio-demographic status on the estimation of these weights. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three hospitals in southern Thailand to describe the disability weights based on different valuation methods. Altogether, 150 patients with major depressive disorder, 150 with alcohol use disorder, and 150 with osteoarthritis with varying levels of severity were recruited. Using a face-to-face interview, all patients completed a visual analogue scale (VAS) and were randomly assigned to complete either the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) or Time-trade-off (TTO) instrument to estimate their current utility score, which was consequently transformed to a disability weight. Significant differences were found between disability weights derived from the three instruments for the same disease, with the VAS providing the highest and EQ-5D the lowest weights. Patients with major depressive disorder had the highest disability weight while those with osteoarthritis had lowest by most methods. Patients’ socio-demographics do not affect how they perceive their disability or health condition. Our findings highlight the importance of carefully selecting methods of valuing disability weights, which can rely on disease specific conditions.

Highlights

Major depressive disorders (MDD) were in the top three leading causes for non-fatal health loss, accounting for 32.8 million years lived with disability (YLD) in 2017 (4.4% of YLD) and increased steadily by 14.3% from 2007 to 2017 [1]
Our findings highlight the importance of carefully selecting methods of valuing disability weights, which can rely on disease specific conditions
We conducted a cross-sectional study on 150 patients diagnosed with mild, moderate, or severe major depressive disorder (ICD-11 code: F32.0, F32.1, or F32.2), 150 patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee (M17.0) or hip (M16.0), and 150 patients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (F10.1: harmful use of alcohol, F10.2: alcohol dependence or F10.9: unspecified mental and behavioral disorders, due to the use of alcohol)

Summary

Introduction

Major depressive disorders (MDD) were in the top three leading causes for non-fatal health loss, accounting for 32.8 million years lived with disability (YLD) in 2017 (4.4% of YLD) and increased steadily by 14.3% from 2007 to 2017 [1]. Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of disability in the elderly. Alcohol consumption is a significant risk factor for the global burden of disease, accounting for 2.2%. Of age-standardized female deaths and 6.8% of age-standardized male deaths, making it the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and disability adjusted life years (DALY). Based on the Thai Burden of Disease (BOD) Study Group in 2015, the top ten causes of years lived with disability for males were alcohol-use disorders (13.1% of YLD) and osteoarthritis (6.7%), while for females they were osteoarthritis (10.3%) and depression (5.1%).

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion