Why is this study needed? Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is lower among those with chronic diseases than those without. While there are methods to evaluate HRQoL numerically, estimates for people living with chronic diseases are not available in an Australian context. What is the key problem/issue/question this manuscript addresses? The key questions this manuscript addresses are to: (1) assess chronic disease and comorbidity prevalence using population-level survey data linked to administrative health records, (2) quantify HRQoL differences among adults with pre-existing chronic conditions, and (3) model differences in disutility days by listed chronic diseases. What is the main point of your study? Using a population health survey linked to hospital admission and emergency presentation data, this study estimated the prevalence of selected chronic diseases in Queensland, Australia, and evaluated differences in HRQoL scores and the number of days not in optimal health (disutility day) among people with different disease profiles. What are your main results and what do they mean? Survey data linked to administrative hospital data provided chronic disease prevalence estimates comparable to a national health survey, although multimorbidity estimates were higher. Multimorbidity is commonly associated with higher health care costs and utilisation, and is a growing challenge to healthcare sector sustainability. Robust multimorbidity prevalence better informs healthcare system planning. Population-level HRQoL scores were also lower among Queensland adults with chronic diseases. A high number of disutility days could be avoided if chronic disease onset could be averted or delayed.
Endo et al. (Thu,) studied this question.