The transition to university is a critical period during which considerable life changes arise. Useful national data to design tailored interventions aimed at promoting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Moroccan students are lacking. The present study is aimed at filling this gap by investigating the levels and associated factors of HRQoL among a national sample of Moroccan university students. HRQoL was assessed using the EQ-5D-5L instrument. Data from 2759 university students were collected in a large, cross-sectional, web-based survey. All statistical analyses were conducted using the R software. The EQ-5D-5L findings showed that the majority of students rated level 1 (no problems) and level 2 (slight problems) for the “Mobility”, “Self-Care”, “Usual Activities”, and “Pain/Discomfort” HRQoL dimensions. However, the “Anxiety/Depression” dimension was the exception; more than half (57.1%) of the students were slightly to extremely anxious or depressed. The levels of lifestyle habits were of concern among participants of this study. With respect to sedentary behaviors and physical activity, we found that approximately 80% of participants spent ≥2 h/day on different screen-based sedentary behaviors, and 60% were physically inactive. Lifestyle habits that were found to be associated with HRQoL are sleeping time, physical activity, leisure, hygiene, household activities, homework, and social media time. The multiple regression model explained 93% of the EQ-VAS score variance. The findings could be of great importance for researchers and policymakers interested in promoting health of university students.

Background: Research on COVID-19 has mostly focused on transmission, mortality and morbidity associated with the virus. However, less attention has been given to its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with COVID-19. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the demographic and clinical risk factors associated with COVID-19 and evaluate its impact on the HRQoL of COVID-19 survivors. Methods: A case-control study was carried out between September 2021 and March 2022 on 1105 participants. A total of 354 were COVID-19 survivors and 751 were the control group. The HRQoL was assessed using both EQ-5D-5L and SF-6D generic instruments. Results: The average age of all participants was 56.17 ± 15.46. Older age, urban area, tobacco use, presence of chronic diseases especially type 1 diabetes, kidney and cardiovascular diseases were significantly associated with COVID-19. The COVID-19 survivors had significantly lower HRQoL (EQ-VAS = 50.89) compared to the control group (EQ-VAS = 63.36) (p-value < 0.0001). Pain/ discomfort and anxiety/depression were the most negatively affected by COVID-19 (p-value < 0.0001). Conclusions: The findings from this study could help healthcare professionals and policy makers to better understand the HRQoL sequelae among the COVID-19 survivors and contribute to develop tailored interventions.

Introduction Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of cervical cancer patients treated by Concurrent Chemoradiation (CCRT) in Morocco is influenced by multiple concomitant factors that affect patients’ post-treatment physical and psychosocial well-being. Therefore, the assessment of post-treatment health related quality of life may help identify groups of patients and risk factors for future interventions for improving post-treatment quality of life. Method This study aimed at assessing HRQoL and its association to psychological distress of 103 cervical cancer patients treated with CCRT in Morocco. The assessment was performed using the EORTC-QLQ-C30 and the HADS questionnaires. Results Cervical cancer patients had diminished HRQoL for functional dimensions ("emotional functioning", “physical functioning” and “role functioning” with averages of 51.78, 54.17, and 58.74, respectively) and high level for symptomatic dimensions with mean scores of 58.90 for “Appetite loss’, 38.83 for “financial difficulties”, 45.31 for “insomnia”, 45.42 for “fatigue”, and 46.28 for “pain”. The assessment of anxiety and depression symptoms showed that the majority of patients had high level of anxiety (62.1%), and depression (61.2%). Emotional functioning, fatigue and insomnia were the main predictors of anxiety disorder in women with cervical cancer. Lower emotional functioning and greater fatigue and insomnia contributed significantly to higher anxiety level. Conclusions HRQoL and psychological status of Moroccan cervical cancer patients undergoing CCRT were negatively affected. These findings suggest that future patient care policies should include strategies for improving HRQoL, mainly through psychological support and patient education as well as prevention or reduction treatment complications.