Patients with AL amyloidosis from lower socioeconomic status groups, defined in terms of education or employment, conveyed lower health-related quality of life compared to patients with more years of education and/or professional/managerial positions, according to an abstract presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
Patients with AL amyloidosis from lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups had poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) when compared to patients with more education and/or professional/managerial positions, according to an abstract being presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta, Georgia.
“SES can affect HRQoL through a variety of mechanisms, including poor access to healthcare, physical and mental comorbidities, low levels of health literacy or health activation, and consequent negative health behaviors,” wrote the study authors.
The cross-sectional, observational study looked at 1289 patients with AL amyloidosis evaluated between 1994 and 2014 at the amyloidosis Center at Boston University. Participants completed the SF-36v1 Health Surveys, within 7 days of their initial evaluation, which assessed HRQoL in relation to 8 domains and 2 component measures:
Participant SES was determined based upon occupation type and educational attainment. Authors used regression models including each SF-36v1 domain or summary score as a dependent variable to determine if there was a link between SES and HRQoL. The association was determined independent of other characteristics such as type of organ involvement, multi-organ involvement, eligibility for stem cell transplantation, and time since diagnosis.
The models produced results showing patients with less years of education reporting worse HRQoL impairment compared to patients with more education. Differences by educational attainment (with the exception of GH, MH, and MCS) all exceeded a threshold of 1 minimally important difference (MID).
Using occupation at the independent variable for SES, scores also differed drastically by occupation. Patients in other (non-professional/managerial) occupations reported statistically (P < 0.05 for all) and clinically (exceeding 1 MID) substantial deficits on all SF-36v1 scores.
Patients on disability presented significantly worse SF-36v1 scores (P < 0.05 for all), and deficits exceeded 1 MID for all scores. For PF, VT, and PCS, the differences surpassed 2 MIDS. Patients who were retired conveyed significant deficits for PF and RP (P < 0.05 for both).
“Outreach efforts designed to increase the understanding of the disease among community-based clinicians should highlight the additional HRQoL burden and potential need for more comprehensive care among patients with SES groups,” concluded the authors.
The meeting takes place from December 9-12, 2017.
Looking Back on ISPOR 2024: Hot Policy Topics, Welcome Focus on Employers, and More
May 10th 2024Kimberly Westrich, MA, chief strategy officer of the National Pharmaceutical Council, reflects on the most valuable learnings from the 2024 meeting of ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, including lively discussions of the Inflation Reduction Act and workshops on value assessment.
Read More
The Importance of Examining and Preventing Atrial Fibrillation
August 29th 2023At this year’s American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress on CVD Prevention, Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, delivered the Honorary Fellow Award Lecture, “The Imperative to Focus on the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation,” as the recipient of this year’s Honorary Fellow of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology award.
Listen
Posters Characterize DMD Caregiver Experiences, Impact of Gene Therapy on Caregiving Demands
May 10th 2024Posters presented at the ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research meeting explored Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) caregiver experiences and gene therapy’s impact on work opportunities for caregivers.
Read More
Promoting Equity in Public Health: Policy, Investment, and Community Engagement Solutions
June 28th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, on the core takeaways of his keynote session at AHIP 2022 on public health policy and other solutions to promote equitable health and well-being.
Listen
Budesonide-Based Triple Therapy Shows Best Benefit Over Dual Therapy for COPD
May 8th 2024The triple therapy of budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate showed the greatest incremental net benefit among a series of triple therapy medications that were evaluated against dual therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to an analysis presented at ISPOR.
Read More