Using the EQ-5D-5L to investigate quality-of-life impacts of disease-modifying therapy policies for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in New Zealand

Suzi Claflin (), Julie Campbell, Richard Norman, Deborah F. Mason, Tomas Kalincik, Steve Simpson-Yap, Helmut Butzkueven, William M. Carroll, Andrew J. Palmer, C. Leigh Blizzard, Ingrid van der Mei, Glen J. Henson and Bruce V. Taylor ()
Additional contact information
Suzi Claflin: University of Tasmania
Richard Norman: Curtin University
Deborah F. Mason: New Zealand Brain Research Institute
Tomas Kalincik: CORe The University of Melbourne
Steve Simpson-Yap: University of Tasmania
Helmut Butzkueven: Monash University
William M. Carroll: Perron Institute
Andrew J. Palmer: University of Tasmania
C. Leigh Blizzard: University of Tasmania
Ingrid van der Mei: University of Tasmania
Glen J. Henson: University of Tasmania
Bruce V. Taylor: University of Tasmania

The European Journal of Health Economics, 2023, vol. 24, issue 6, No 8, 939-950

Abstract: Abstract Background Health state utilities (HSU) are a health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) input for cost-utility analyses used for resource allocation decisions, including medication reimbursement. New Zealand (NZ) guidelines recommend the EQ-5D instruments; however, the EQ-5D-5L may not sufficiently capture psychosocial health. We evaluated HRQoL among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in NZ using the EQ-5D-5L and assessed the instrument’s discriminatory sensitivity for a NZ MS cohort. Methods Participants were recruited from the NZ MS Prevalence Study. Participants self-completed a 45-min online survey that included the EQ-5D-5L/EQ-VAS. Disability severity was classified using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) to categorise participant disability as mild (EDSS: 0–3.5), moderate (EDSS: 4.0–6.0) and severe (EDSS: 6.5–9.5). Anxiety/depression were also measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS). In the absence of an EQ-5D-5L NZ tariff, HSUs were derived using an Australian tariff. We evaluated associations between HSUs and participant characteristics with linear regression models. Results 254 participants entered the study. Mean age was 55.2 years, 79.5% were female. Mean (SD) EQ-5D-5L HSU was 0.58 (0.33). Mean (SD) HSUs for disability categories were: mild 0.80 ± 0.17, moderate 0.57 ± 0.21 and severe 0.14 ± 0.32. Twelve percent reported HSU = 1.0 (i.e., no problems in any domain). Participants who had never used a disease-modifying therapy reported a lower mean HSU. Multivariable modelling found that the HADS anxiety score was not associated with EQ-5D-5L. Conclusions HRQoL for people with MS in NZ was lower than comparable countries, including Australia. We suggest a comparison with other generic tools that may have improved sensitivity to mental health.

Keywords: Multi-attribute utility instrument; Quality of life; Health technology assessment; Cost-utility analysis; Cost-effectiveness analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10198-022-01518-x Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:24:y:2023:i:6:d:10.1007_s10198-022-01518-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... cs/journal/10198/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s10198-022-01518-x

Access Statistics for this article

The European Journal of Health Economics is currently edited by J.-M.G.v.d. Schulenburg

More articles in The European Journal of Health Economics from Springer, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().