What is the difference between the EQ-5D-5L descriptive system and the EQ VAS?
The descriptive system can be represented as a health state, e.g. health state 21143 represents a patient who indicates slight problems on the mobility dimension, no problems on the self-care and usual activities dimensions, severe pain or discomfort, and moderate problems on the anxiety/depression dimension. These health states can be converted to a single index value using the crosswalk link function based on the existing value sets for the EQ-5D-3L described in Section 4 above. These EQ-5D-3L value sets are based on VAS or TTO valuation techniques, and reflect the opinion of the general population. The EQ VAS scores are patient-based and are therefore not representative of the general population. The EQ VAS self-rating records the respondents own assessment of their health status. The EQ VAS scores however are anchored on 100 = the best health you can imagine and 0 = the worst health you can imagine, whereas the value sets are anchored on 11111 = 1 and dead = 0 and can therefore be
