Age dependency of EQ-5D-Youth health states valuations on a visual analogue scale
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RESEARCH
Age dependency of EQ‑5D‑Youth health states valuations on a visual analogue scale Jim G. A. Retra1, Brigitte A. B. Essers1* , Manuela A. Joore1,2, Silvia M. A. A. Evers2,3 and Carmen D. Dirksen1,2
Abstract Background: Examine whether the use of different ages has an impact on the valuation of EQ-5D-Y health states for a hypothetical child or adolescent. Methods: A survey was administered during regular classes among a convenience sample of university students in the Netherlands. Respondents first valued 6 EQ-5D-Y health states (2 mild, 2 moderate, 2 severe) describing a hypothetical child/adolescent of a certain age on a visual analogue scale (VAS). After 1 h respondents valued the same six health states again but this time the age of the child was different. Age differed between 4, 10 and 16 year old. Results: Number of respondents was 311. No significant differences in valuation of the six health states were found between the age of 10 and 16. One moderate health state was valued significantly better for a 4-year old compared to a 10 and a 16 year old. The same applied for one severe health state that was valued higher for a 4-year old compared to a 16-year old. Conclusion: Our study shows that, except for one moderate and one severe health state, other EQ-5D-Y health states were not valued significantly different when description of age differed. It is possible that problems in specific health domains are considered more severe for older children/adolescents compared to younger children who might still be dependent on their caregivers. Future research should examine whether our findings are also present in a broader set of EQ-5D-Y health states, with a choice-based method like TTO or DCE, and a more heterogeneous sample. Keywords: EQ-5D-Y, Health state valuation, Child, Adolescent Background Over the last years, interest in the use of preference based outcomes for economic evaluations in the paediatric population has increased [1–3]. Despite this attention, there is still a lack of child specific values for health states. These values are necessary in order to calculate Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY’s) in cost-utility analysis [4]. One of the most frequently used health related preference based instruments in adults is the Euroqol 5D (EQ-5D-3L) [5]. This instrument consist of a descriptive part with five domains i.e. mobility, self-care, usual *Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Technology Assessment, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. In the three level version, each domain has three answer options leading to 243 unique health states. A tariff for the adult version has been developed based on valuations given by the general population for a subset of these EQ5D-3L health states [6]. As from 2009, a child-friendly version of the EQ-5D-3L is available which is called the EQ-
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