Health-Related Quality of Life for People With Acute and Chronic Illnesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for adults with chronic and acute illnesses informs health and economic policy for pandemic recovery. Our primary aim was to compare HRQoL of 3 illness groups of outpatient adults: those with diabetes, those who survived a hospitalization for COVID-19, and those who had a respiratory virus not COVID-19. The secondary aim was to compare the group domain summary scores to the referent general population. Methods: We identified the 3 groups from the electronic medical record and invited them to complete the SF-36 survey. Analysis of variance and post hoc testing was used for univariate analyses followed by linear regression. Results: One hundred thirty-two adults completed the survey. The groups differed least for physical functioning and most for emotional/mental health. The hospitalized group had the greatest limitation in role due to emotional issues. All groups had significantly lower social functioning scores than the general population. Linear regression showed lower HRQoL domain score in role limitations due to emotional issues adjusted for age, race, and gender for the hospitalized group. Conclusion: SF-36 scores show the decrease in HRQoL that outpatient adults have suffered, mostly in the emotional domain, regardless of illness group during the COVID-19 pandemic.