Assessing Health-Related Quality of life and socioeconomic impacts in low-endemic schistosomiasis: A study from Rural China

To describe and compare health-related quality of life (HRQL) across disease stages (advanced schistosomiasis [AS], schistosomiasis-induced liver fibrosis [SLF], and healthy controls [HP]) in a low-endemic setting, and to explore associations between HRQL and socioeconomic/geographic factors. The findings aim to inform targeted interventions and policies at specific disease stages. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a schistosomiasis-endemic county in Jiangxi Province, China. A total of 2,652 participants, including 884 each in the AS, SLF, and healthy population (HP) groups, were enrolled. HRQL was assessed using the validated Chinese version of the SF-36 questionnaire. Socioeconomic variables (per-capita disposable income of rural households [P-DIRH], per-capita gross domestic product [P-GDP]) and geographic variables (type of schistosomiasis endemic area, endemic status) were analyzed. Non-parametric tests and multivariate linear regression (SPSS 27.0) were employed for statistical analyses. It was observed that the HRQL scores showed a gradually increasing trend (AS