The effect of measles on health-related quality of life: a patient-based survey.
<h4>Background</h4>Measles is a highly contagious and potentially fatal illness preventable through vaccination. Outbreaks in the UK and many other European countries have been increasing over recent years, with over 3,207 laboratory-confirmed cases reported by Public Health England from...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105153 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850124822354329600 |
|---|---|
| author | Dominic Thorrington Mary Ramsay Albert Jan van Hoek W John Edmunds Roberto Vivancos Antoaneta Bukasa Ken Eames |
| author_facet | Dominic Thorrington Mary Ramsay Albert Jan van Hoek W John Edmunds Roberto Vivancos Antoaneta Bukasa Ken Eames |
| author_sort | Dominic Thorrington |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>Measles is a highly contagious and potentially fatal illness preventable through vaccination. Outbreaks in the UK and many other European countries have been increasing over recent years, with over 3,207 laboratory-confirmed cases reported by Public Health England from January 2012 to the end of June 2013. To aid rational decision making regarding measles control versus other use of healthcare resources, it is important to measure the severity of measles in units that are comparable to other diseases. The standard metric for this in the UK is the quality-adjust life year (QALY). To our knowledge, the impact of measles on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in terms of QALYs has not been quantified.<h4>Methods and findings</h4>Individuals with confirmed measles were sent questionnaires requesting information on the short-term impact of the illness on their HRQoL using the EuroQol EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. HRQoL was reported for the day the questionnaire was received, the worst day of infection and at follow-up three weeks later. 507 questionnaires were sent to individuals with confirmed measles with 203 returned (40%). The majority of respondents were not vaccinated. The mean time off work or school was 9.6 days. The mean duration of perceived illness was 13.8 days. The mean number of QALYs lost was 0.019 (equivalent to 6.9 days). The overall burden of disease in terms of QALYs lost in England based on the total number of confirmed cases in the twelve month period from 1st June 2012 was estimated to be 44.2 QALYs.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The short-term impact of measles infection on HRQoL is substantial, both at the level of the individual patient and in terms of the overall disease burden. This is the first attempt to quantify QALY-loss due to measles at a population level, and provides important parameters to guide future intervention and control measures. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7ddca9a090bc44e7a66142ebeed76f95 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-7ddca9a090bc44e7a66142ebeed76f952025-08-20T02:34:13ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0199e10515310.1371/journal.pone.0105153The effect of measles on health-related quality of life: a patient-based survey.Dominic ThorringtonMary RamsayAlbert Jan van HoekW John EdmundsRoberto VivancosAntoaneta BukasaKen Eames<h4>Background</h4>Measles is a highly contagious and potentially fatal illness preventable through vaccination. Outbreaks in the UK and many other European countries have been increasing over recent years, with over 3,207 laboratory-confirmed cases reported by Public Health England from January 2012 to the end of June 2013. To aid rational decision making regarding measles control versus other use of healthcare resources, it is important to measure the severity of measles in units that are comparable to other diseases. The standard metric for this in the UK is the quality-adjust life year (QALY). To our knowledge, the impact of measles on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in terms of QALYs has not been quantified.<h4>Methods and findings</h4>Individuals with confirmed measles were sent questionnaires requesting information on the short-term impact of the illness on their HRQoL using the EuroQol EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. HRQoL was reported for the day the questionnaire was received, the worst day of infection and at follow-up three weeks later. 507 questionnaires were sent to individuals with confirmed measles with 203 returned (40%). The majority of respondents were not vaccinated. The mean time off work or school was 9.6 days. The mean duration of perceived illness was 13.8 days. The mean number of QALYs lost was 0.019 (equivalent to 6.9 days). The overall burden of disease in terms of QALYs lost in England based on the total number of confirmed cases in the twelve month period from 1st June 2012 was estimated to be 44.2 QALYs.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The short-term impact of measles infection on HRQoL is substantial, both at the level of the individual patient and in terms of the overall disease burden. This is the first attempt to quantify QALY-loss due to measles at a population level, and provides important parameters to guide future intervention and control measures.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105153 |
| spellingShingle | Dominic Thorrington Mary Ramsay Albert Jan van Hoek W John Edmunds Roberto Vivancos Antoaneta Bukasa Ken Eames The effect of measles on health-related quality of life: a patient-based survey. PLoS ONE |
| title | The effect of measles on health-related quality of life: a patient-based survey. |
| title_full | The effect of measles on health-related quality of life: a patient-based survey. |
| title_fullStr | The effect of measles on health-related quality of life: a patient-based survey. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of measles on health-related quality of life: a patient-based survey. |
| title_short | The effect of measles on health-related quality of life: a patient-based survey. |
| title_sort | effect of measles on health related quality of life a patient based survey |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105153 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dominicthorrington theeffectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT maryramsay theeffectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT albertjanvanhoek theeffectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT wjohnedmunds theeffectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT robertovivancos theeffectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT antoanetabukasa theeffectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT keneames theeffectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT dominicthorrington effectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT maryramsay effectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT albertjanvanhoek effectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT wjohnedmunds effectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT robertovivancos effectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT antoanetabukasa effectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey AT keneames effectofmeaslesonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeapatientbasedsurvey |