Health-related quality of life predicted subsequent health care resource utilization in patients with active cancer

Purpose The objective of this study was to estimate the association between SF-12v2® Health Survey (SF-12v2) scores and subsequent health care resource utilization (HCRU) among patients with cancer. Methods We analyzed 18+ year participants in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, diagnosed with active cancer or malignancy (n = 647). HCRU was measured by total medical expenditures (MEs) and number of medical events (EVs) in the 6 months following the SF-12v2 assessment. The effect of SF-12v2 scores (physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summary scores and the SF-6D health-utility score) on HCRU was estimated using generalized linear models. Estimates were obtained for the entire sample and for the four cancer groups present in the sample: breast, prostate, skin, and lung. Results For PCS and MCS, a one-point better score was associated with 2% lower MEs (P