Health-Related Quality of Life in the Patients of Gout, A Multi-center, Cross-sectional Study

Background: Although EuroQol 5-domain (EQ-5D) of the 5-level version (5L) instrument has been used to determine quality of life and health utility in gout, the health utility among patients with gout flare (GF) and non-gout flare (non-GF) is still limited. This study aimed to measure the utility values among GF and non-GF patients in Thailand. Methods: A multi-center cross-sectional survey study was performed. Patients with GF and non-GF were face-to-face interviewed by trained research staffs using the EQ-5D-5L (Thai version) and EQ-Visual Analog Scale (VAS) instrument. Those with GF were subdivided into those who received no treatment and those who received treatment less than 48 hours after GF. Results: Two hundred and sixteen patients (108 GF and 108 non-GF patients), male in 90.28%, were included. The disease duration was significantly longer in the non-GF than in the GF groups (median: 10 vs 5 years, p = 0.004). There was no difference in the tophi present between the two groups. When compared with non-GF group, the GF patients significantly had low health utility (0.34 ± 0.36 vs. 0.89 ± 0.15, p ≤ 0.001), and EQ-VAS score (54.73 ± 24.14 vs. 84.06 ± 13.38, p ≤ 0.001). In a subgroup analysis of the non-GF group, there was not significant health utility and EQ-VAS score between those with tophi and those without tophi (0.87 ± 0.14 vs. 0.90 ± 0.15, p = 0.351 and 83.37 ± 14.92 vs. 84.33 ± 12.84, p = 0.738, respectively). Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of assessing quality of life in managing gouty patients. Patients with GF had lower health utility and EQ-VAS status than the non-GF patients.