The article "The social determinants of health-related quality of life among people with chronic disease: a systematic literature review" by Terhi Kangas, Sara-Lynn Milis, Katrien Vanthomme, and Hadewijch Vandenheede has been just published in "Quality of Life Research". Full text is available here.
This study explores how social factors (such as income, education, and social support) are associated with the Health-Related Quality of Life for people with chronic diseases. The goal is to identify which factors have the strongest association with their health-related quality of life, and whether those factors make it better or worse. The study finds that younger people, men, those with strong social support, married people, those with higher education, higher incomes, and those living in cities tend to have a better health-related quality of life. Among these, education and income are the most important. The review emphasizes that while medical care is important, addressing social factors is also crucial for improving the health-related quality of life of people with chronic diseases. It suggests that new health care policies should prioritise support for people with lower education and lower income. Future research should explore how these social factors affect health-related quality of life over time to help create better healthcare policies.
Citation: Kangas, T., Milis, S. L., Vanthomme, K., & Vandenheede, H. (2025). The social determinants of health-related quality of life among people with chronic disease: a systematic literature review. Quality of Life Research, 1-11.
