Relationship between residential district and health-related quality of life in Chungnam industrial complex area

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between residential district of people, such as power plant, steel-mill and petrochemical industries, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHODS Using a cross-sectional study design, we randomly recruited participants for our study from industrial areas (thermoelectric power plant, steel-mill, petrochemical industry) and rural areas. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the relationships between Euro quality of life-5 dimension (EQ-5D) scores and living region, while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS In adjusted model, quality of life decreased with increasing category of age and were lower for females than males. EQ-5D scores of people living in the vicinity of thermoelectric power plant were significant lower than those of people living the vicinity of comparison region (odds ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 2.53). CONCLUSIONS Living region of thermoelectric power plant, was strongly associated with scores on the EQ-5D. More research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms which makes the relationship with the living regions and HRQoL.