Socioeconomic status (SES) and health-related quality of life at follow-up (QLQ-C30: symptom scales and single items): generalised estimating equations (standardised regression coefficients β† and 95% CIs)
| SES indicator | Basic model‡ | Basic model+disease factors | Basic model+patient factors | Basic model+healthcare factors | Full model (basic model+all factors) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QLQ-C30-subscale | β | 95% CI | β | 95% CI | β | 95% CI | β | 95% CI | β | 95% CI | |
| Fatigue | Income | −0.13* | −0.26 to −0.01 | −0.12 | −0.24 to 0.00 | −0.10 | −0.22 to 0.02 | −0.10 | −0.23 to −0.04 | −0.07 | −0.18 to 0.04 |
| Education | −0.13* | −0.24 to −0.02 | −0.13* | −0.24 to −0.03 | −0.10* | −0.20 to −0.01 | −0.15* | −0.26 to −0.03 | −0.11* | −0.20 to −0.01 | |
| Occupation | −0.11 | −0.23 to 0.00 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Nausea and vomiting | Income | −0.06 | −0.13 to 0.02 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Education | −0.01 | −0.10 to 0.08 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Occupation | −0.04 | −0.12 to 0.05 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Pain | Income | −0.09 | −0.21 to 0.02 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Education | −0.05 | −0.15 to 0.06 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Occupation | −0.09 | −0.19 to 0.00 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Dyspnoea | Income | −0.14* | −0.27 to -0.01 | −0.13* | −0.26 to −0.01 | −0.12 | −0.25 to 0.01 | −0.08 | −0.21 to 0.04 | −0.09 | −0.20 to 0.03 |
| Education | −0.15* | −0.29 to −0.01 | −0.15* | −0.30 to −0.01 | −0.14* | −0.27 to −0.02 | −0.14* | −0.28 to −0.01 | −0.14* | −0.26 to −0.02 | |
| Occupation | −0.05 | −0.15 to 0.05 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Insomnia | Income | −0.08 | −0.20 to 0.03 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Education | −0.06 | −0.17 to 0.05 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Occupation | −0.06 | −0.19 to 0.06 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Appetite loss | Income | −0.06 | −0.18 to 0.06 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Education | −0.06 | −0.19 to 0.07 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Occupation | −0.05 | −0.14 to 0.04 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Constipation | Income | −0.01 | −0.13 to 0.11 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Education | −0.11 | −0.26 to 0.04 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Occupation | −0.05 | −0.18 to 0.08 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Diarrhoea | Income | −0.15* | −0.28 to −0.02 | −0.12* | −0.24 to −0.01 | −0.10 | −0.23 to 0.02 | −0.14* | −0.27 to −0.01 | −0.07 | −0.18 to 0.04 |
| Education | −0.06 | −0.16 to 0.05 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Occupation | −0.03 | −0.13 to 0.07 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Financial difficulties | Income | −0.25*** | −0.37 to −0.17 | −0.23*** | −0.35 to −0.11 | −0.25*** | −0.39 to −0.12 | −0.21** | −0.33 to −0.09 | −0.19** | −0.33 to −0.05 |
| Education | −0.20** | −0.32 to −0.07 | −0.20** | −0.31 to −0.08 | −0.17* | −0.30 to −0.04 | −0.19** | −0.32 to −0.06 | −0.17* | −0.30 to −0.04 | |
| Occupation | −0.17** | −0.26 to −0.07 | −0.17*** | −0.27 to 0.08 | −0.14* | −0.24 to −0.03 | −0.14** | −0.24 to −0.04 | −0.14* | −0.24 to −0.03 | |
Basic model: SES (income OR education OR occupation), age.
Disease factors: tumour stage, Gleason score, surgical margin status.
Patient factors: comorbidity, coping, social support.
Healthcare factors: barriers of access, number of utilisations, perceived quality of information.
†Values in bold are significant (*p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001; Wald-χ2 test).
‡Further analysis was conducted only when β was statistically significant (p<0.05) in basic model.