Measuring patient quality of life: is the health utility index useful?

The purpose of this paper is to report Health Utility Index Mark 3 (HUI3) scores, at baseline and at one year, for patients with psychotic disorders. Eighty two randomly selected outpatients from a Montreal teaching hospital completed the HUI3 and other measures of symptoms and side-effects. At baseline, the average Global Utility score was 0.64, which is rated in the "dysfunctional" health status range. Improvements were seen at one year follow-up in the Global, Dexterity, Cognition, and Pain Utility scores. The proportion of individuals rated in the "healthy" health status range improved by 32% from baseline to one year. HUI3 scores were negatively related to measures of psychotic symptoms and side-effects. We propose that the HUI3 should be used to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with psychotic disorders. Scores could be compared with other populations affected with chronic conditions (e.g., Alzheimer dementia, cancer, arthritis, etc.).