Health-related quality of life after total hip replacement: a Taiwan study

This study applied the generalised estimating equations (GEE) in a large-scale prospective cohort study of predictors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a Taiwan population. The study population included all patients who had undergone primary total hip replacement (THR) performed between March 1998 and December 2002 by either of two orthopaedic surgeons in two hospitals. The SF-36 was used in pre- and postoperative assessments of 335 patients. Young age, male gender, minimal comorbidity, use of epidural anaesthesia, lack of readmission within the previous 30 days, and higher preoperative functional status were positively associated with HRQoL ( P