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Structure of health-related quality of life among people with and without functional limitations

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to assess the factor structure of nine health-related quality of life (HRQOL) survey items among people with and without disabilities or functional limitations (FL) and determine whether factor loadings were similar for the two groups.

Methods

Data were from US states and territories in the 2001 and 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Confirmatory factor analyses assessed fit of the data to a previously found factor structure.

Results

A two-factor structure was confirmed, conceptually representing physical and mental health. Although this structure fit data for both people with and without FL, factor loadings were significantly different for the two groups. In all but one instance, factor loadings were higher for people with FL than for people without FL.

Conclusions

Results suggest that people with and without FL conceptualize physical and mental HRQOL similarly. However, the nine items analyzed appear to be a better reflection of the latent constructs of physical and mental HRQOL in the population of people with FL than those without FL.

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Abbreviations

BRFSS:

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

CDC:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CFI:

Comparative fit index

FL:

Functional limitation(s)

HRQOL:

Health-related quality of life

WLSMV:

Mean and variance-adjusted weighted least squares

RMSEA:

Root mean square error of approximation

TLI:

Tucker–Lewis index

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Acknowledgments

The members of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) Expert Panel on Health Status Measurement are: Elena Andresen, PhD, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida; Vincent Campbell, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Bradley J. Cardinal, PhD, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon; Charles Drum, JD, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; Glenn Fujiura, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Trevor Hall, PsyD, Oregon Health & Science University; Willi Horner-Johnson, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University; Gloria Krahn, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Margaret Nosek, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. The authors thank Mo Wang for expert consultation and data analysis and Susan Wingenfeld for assistance with references and formatting. The contents of this article were developed under a grant from the Department of Education, NIDRR grant number H133B040034. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Rie Suzuki

    Present address: Department of Health Sciences and Administration, University of Michigan–Flint, 2102 William S. White Building, Flint, MI, 48502, USA

  2. Gloria L. Krahn

    Present address: Division of Human Development and Disability, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, MS E 88, Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oregon Institute on Disability and Development, RRTC: Health and Wellness, Oregon Health & Science University, 707 SW Gaines Street, Portland, OR, 97239-3098, USA

    Willi Horner-Johnson & Charles E. Drum

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health and Health Professionals, University of Florida, 101 S. Newell Drive, PO Box 100231, Gainesville, FL, 32611-0231, USA

    Elena M. Andresen

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  1. Willi Horner-Johnson
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The RRTC Expert Panel on Health Measurement

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Willi Horner-Johnson.

Additional information

R. Suzuki and G. L. Krahn—majority of work performed while at OHSU.

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Horner-Johnson, W., Suzuki, R., Krahn, G.L. et al. Structure of health-related quality of life among people with and without functional limitations. Qual Life Res 19, 977–984 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-010-9664-y

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