Hacia una base normativa mexicana en la medición de calidad de vida relacionada con la salud, mediante el Formato Corto 36

Résumé 0

"To present the results of the application of theshort format 36 instrument (SF-36) in the Mexican statesof Sonora and Oaxaca. The levels of quality of life were comparedwith those from Canada and the United States. Materialand Methods. The data were obtained using asurvey on health service access, usage, and quality. TheSF-36 is composed of 36 questions, which represent eightdifferent domains on the health-related quality of life. Thesedomains are used to estimate the physical and mental componentsof health. Data analysis was performed to calculatethe average scores for each domain for the total sample, bygender and age groups in each state. The regional differenceswere assessed by the difference of means. Results. Thetotal response was 98.5% of the 4200 selected households.The percent response values were similar between the twostates. A total of 5961 subjects older than 25 years of agecompleted the questionnaire. Males scored higher than femalesin all domains and in both components. Regardless ofsex, the highest variation was observed in adults up to 64years of age mainly in three domains: overall health, socialfunction, and mental health; in the 65-74 year age groupoccurred mostly in social function and mental health; and inadults older than 75 years only in mental health. The youngadult age group (25 to 44 years) showed variation in a greaternumber of domains, while women exhibited more variationin the “extreme” age groups, 25 to 34 years and 75 yearsand older. The mean scores in our sample were higher than domainsand in the two summary components. Canada showedhigher scores in the other three domains (overall health,social function, and mental health). Conclusions. SF-36data are not available at the national level; hence, the authorsrecommend that their study results may serve as thenormative reference for SF-36 in Mexico. Researchers usingthe SF-36 could compare their results with our reference,adjusted by gender and age in population-based studies.Considering that the study regions have contrasting socialand economic characteristics, the data from the more developedstate, Sonora, may be used as the normative standard.Data from Oaxaca would be used as the reference forless-developed states. The English version of this paper isavailable at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html"