Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Episodes and Health-Related Quality of Life

Caterina Alacevich, Inna Thalmann, Catia Nicodemo, Simon Lusignan and Stavros Petrou
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Inna Thalmann: University of Oxford
Simon Lusignan: University of Oxford
Stavros Petrou: University of Oxford

Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 2023, vol. 21, issue 5, No 7, 771 pages

Abstract: Abstract Background Understanding the physical and mental health needs of the population through evidence-based research is a priority for informing health policy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, population wellbeing dramatically dropped. The relationship between experiences of symptomatic illness episodes and health-related quality of life has been less documented. Objective This study analysed the association between symptomatic COVID-19 illness and health-related quality of life. Methods The analyses drew from a cross-sectional analysis of data from a national digital symptoms’ surveillance survey conducted in the UK in 2020. We identified illness episodes using symptoms and test results data and we analysed validated health-related quality of life outcomes including health utility scores (indexed on a 0–1 cardinal scale) and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores (0–100 scale) generated by the EuroQoL’s EQ-5D-5L measure. The econometric model controlled for respondents’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, comorbidities, social isolation measures, and regional and time fixed effects. Results The results showed that the experience of common SARS-CoV-2 symptoms was significantly associated with poorer health-related quality of life across all EQ-5D-5L dimensions of mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression, a decrement in utility score of − 0.13 and a decrement in the EQ-VAS score of − 15. The findings were robust to sensitivity analyses and restrictive test results-based definitions. Conclusion This evidence-based study highlights the need for targeting of interventions and services towards those experiencing symptomatic episodes during future waves of the pandemic and helps to quantify the benefits of SARS-CoV-2 treatment in terms of health-related quality of life.

JEL-codes: C1 I1 I14 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s40258-023-00810-y

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