OBJECTIVES: Hypertension is a major public health issue all over the world, especially in China rural area due to the backwardness and lack of awareness. However，most of the researches on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for patients with hypertension were carried out in urban area, investigations for rural areas remained scarce. This study firstly used the recently developed Chinese version of EuroQol five-dimensional-five-level (EQ-5D-5L) value set to analyze the HRQoL and its influencing factors on the largest hypertensive population in rural China, so as to provide reference for policy-making for hypertension control domestically and globally.

METHODS: A Chinese population-based cross-sectional investigation was conducted from July to September, 2016. Quality of life data were collected via the EQ-5D-5L, along with sociodemographic characteristics and related well recognized risk factors level. Descriptive statistics were derived, and a Tobit regression model was performed to analyze the influencing factors of HRQoL.

RESULTS: A total of 16,596 participants with hypertension were enrolled in this study. The mean utility score was 0.85(standard deviate [SD] =0.23). The dimension which people reported most was pain/discomfort, while the self-care was the least. Females, elders, illiteracies, ex-smokers, left-handers, patients who have a longer duration of disease or with multiple comorbidities scored lower than average. Stroke, coronary heart disease, and heart failure reduced HRQoL most among all included types of comorbidities.

CONCLUSIONS: To improve HRQoL of patients with hypertension in rural areas, elderly female patients with comorbidities, especially stroke and less education, should be paid more attention.