Quality of life in an urban Asian population: the impact of ethnicity and socio-economic status

The relationships between ethnicity, socio-economic status (SES) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have not been well characterised in most Asian populations. We therefore studied the influence of ethnicity and SES on HRQoL in a multi-ethnic urban Asian population, adjusting for the influence of other known determinants of HRQoL. In a disproportionately stratified, cross-sectional, population-based survey, Chinese, Malay and Indian subjects in Singapore completed the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) HRQoL measure and were assessed to determine demographic, socio-economic, psychosocial and other characteristics. Multiple linear regression models were used to study the influence of ethnicity and SES on SF-36 scores while adjusting for the influence of other determinants of HRQoL. The survey participation rate was 92.8%. Ethnic differences in HRQoL were present for all 8 SF-36 scales (p