Survey of health-related quality of life in population of 6 Chinese cities

Objective To define the normative values of the SF-36 health survey in 6 Chinese cities so that we can evaluate the quality of life in different Chinese populations.Methods We scored 8 domains of the SF-36 from general population and different groups.The score of the general population was compared with the norms of Hong Kong and US.The stepwise regression analysis was used to calculate the effects of demographic variables on the SF-36 scale scores.Results The score on physical health is 77.54±15.96 and on mental health is 71.29±17.86.All sub-scales scores showed similar trend of change between Chinese general population and Hong Kong general norm.Gender,age and living environment had effects on the SF-36 scores.Conclusion SF-36 health survey can be used to evaluated the impact of health statement on life quality.We can develop the norms of SF-36 by different demographic groups.