Can Self-Rated Health Scores Be Used for Risk Prediction in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes?

OBJECTIVE — To investigate whether self-rated health profiles compiled using the EuroQol group’s visual analog scale (EQ VAS) are independent predictors of vascular events and major complications in people with type 2 diabetes after controlling for standard clinical risk factors. RESEARCHDESIGNANDMETHODS — The study is based on 7,348 individuals with a mean follow-up of 2.4 years after completing the EQ-5D questionnaire. We used Cox propor-tional hazards modeling to estimate hazard ratios associated with EQ VAS scores after controlling for baseline covariates: age, sex, smoking status, diabetes duration, A1C, systolic blood pressure, BMI, plasma lipids, and prior clinical history. RESULTS — A 10-point higher EQ VAS score was associated with a 6 % (95 % CI 1–11) lower risk of vascular events and a 22 % (95 % CI 15–28) lower risk of diabetesc complications. CONCLUSIONS — Self-rated health profiles compiled using the EQ VAS provide valuable information on patient risk in addition to that determined from clinical risk factors alone. Diabetes Care 31:795–797, 2008 S everal risk models are available forpeople with diabetes (1–3) based onclinical risk factors such as systolic blood pressure and A1C. These provide