OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze socio-economic determinants of health-related quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general Hungarian population.

METHODS: We used data from a large-scale, cross-sectional, online questionnaire survey in which a representative sample of the Hungarian population completed the EQ-5D-5L and answered socio-demographic and the COVID-19 related questions. The Hungarian value set was used to generate utility scores.

RESULTS: Mean age of participants (N=2000) was 47.3 (SD=16.4) years, 46.6% were male, and 17.6% reported previous COVID-19 infection. Mean EQ-5D index was 0.87 (SD= 0.23). Generally, respondents most often reported problems with pain/discomfort (47.4%) and were more likely to have severe problems in the mobility dimension (7.1%). Younger age, higher income and higher education background were associated with higher EQ-5D index (Spearman rho: -0.156, 0.194 and 0.175, p<0.001). No significant differences were observed in mean (SD) utility score across quarantine status groups (quarantined 0.86 (0.23) and not quarantined 0.88 (0.23); p=0.827) or vaccination status (vaccinated=0.87 (SD=0.21) and not vaccinated=0.86 (SD=0.25); p=0.339). The mean utility scores of respondents with previous COVID-19 infection and having no, mild, severe symptoms, hospitalized and needed intensive care treatment were 0.93 (0.14), 0.92 (0.14), 0.87 (0.18), 0.69 (0.39) and 0.45 (0.00), respectively. Moreover, respondents who had severe symptoms and hospitalized when they got infected were 4.24 (95% CI, 1.23-14.59) and 17.52 (2.83-108.58) times more likely to report problems with mobility and 3.14 (1.34-7.35) and 5.78 (1.14-29.19) times more likely to report problems with pain/discomfort.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide valuable inputs into cost-effectiveness analyses of COVID-19 related interventions.