Socioeconomic and gender inequalities in mental disorders among adolescents and young adults.

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic status (SES) and gender play a key role in mental health. The objective of this study was to assess socioeconomic and gender mental health inequalities in adolescents and young adults using a population-based registry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a lifetime follow-up study of all residents in the Basque Country between 1 and 30 years old (n=609,381) as of 31 December 2018. Primary care, specialized outpatient, and hospital care records were searched for diagnoses. SES was assessed based on household income. We estimated disaggregated lifetime prevalence of substance use, behaviour, anxiety, depression, psychosis, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The local Institute of Statistics validated the mortality data. The likelihood of risks was estimated using logistic regression. RESULTS: Overall, 96,671 individuals (15.9%) had a diagnosed mental disorder, with clear gradients by gender and SES. Females of medium-to-high SES had the lowest prevalence of all mental disorders, except anxiety and depression. This group was followed by males of the same SES and females of low SES, while the highest prevalence of mental disorders was observed in low-SES males. The lower income categories had higher risks of psychiatric admission (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 3.64 for females; 6.66 for males) and death (AOR: 5.42). People with a mental health diagnosis had higher mortality (AOR: 2.38). CONCLUSIONS: Our work evidenced important SES and gender inequalities in the mental health and premature mortality of adolescents and young adults, findings that should drive the development and implementation of early preventive interventions.

Comorbidity and household income as mediators of gender inequalities in dementia risk: a real-world data population study.

BACKGROUND: Low household income (HI), comorbidities and female sex are associated with an increased risk of dementia. The aim of this study was to measure the mediating effect of comorbidity and HI on the excess risk due to gender in relation to the incidence and prevalence of dementia in the general population. METHODS: A retrospective and observational study using real-world data analysed all people over 60 who were registered with the Basque Health Service in Gipuzkoa. The study measured HI level, the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), age and sex. The prevalence and incidence of dementia were analysed using logistic regression and Poisson regression models, respectively, adjusted by HI, sex, comorbidity and age. We estimated the combined mediation effect of HI and comorbidity on the prevalence of dementia associated with gender. RESULTS: Of the 221,777 individuals, 3.85% (8,549) had a diagnosis of dementia as of 31 December 2021. Classification by the CCI showed a gradient with 2.90% in CCI 0-1, 10.60% in CCI 2-3 and 18.01% in CCI > 3. Both low HI and gender were associated with a higher crude prevalence of dementia. However, in the CCI-adjusted model, women had an increased risk of dementia, while HI was no longer statistically significant. The incidence analysis produced similar results, although HI was not significant in any model. The CCI was significantly higher for men and for people with low HI. The mediation was statistically significant, and the CCI and HI explained 79% of the gender effect. CONCLUSIONS: Comorbidity and low HI act as mediators in the increased risk of dementia associated with female sex. Given the difference in the prevalence of comorbidities by HI, individual interventions to control comorbidities could not only prevent dementia but also reduce inequalities, as the risk is greater in the most disadvantaged population.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Vaccines for COVID-19 According to Sex, Comorbidity and Socioeconomic Status: A Population Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are extremely effective in preventing severe disease, but their real-world cost effectiveness is still an open question. We present an analysis of the cost-effectiveness and economic impact of the initial phase of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in the Basque Country, Spain. METHODS: To calculate costs and quality-adjusted life years for the entire population of the Basque Country, dynamic modelling and a real-world data analysis were combined. Data on COVID-19 infection outcomes (cases, hospitalisations, intensive care unit admissions and deaths) and population characteristics (age, sex, socioeconomic status and comorbidity) during the initial phase of the vaccination rollout, from January to June of 2021, were retrieved from the Basque Health Service database. The outcomes in the alternative scenario (without vaccination) were estimated with the dynamic model used to guide public health authority policies, from February to December 2020. Individual comorbidity-adjusted life expectancy and costs were estimated. RESULTS: By averting severe disease-related outcomes, COVID-19 vaccination resulted in monetary savings of €26.44 million for the first semester of 2021. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was €707/quality-adjusted life year considering official vaccine prices and dominant real prices. While the analysis by comorbidity showed that vaccines were considerably more cost effective in individuals with pre-existing health conditions, this benefit was lower in the low socioeconomic status group. CONCLUSIONS: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of the vaccination programme justified the policy of prioritising high-comorbidity patients. The initial phase of COVID-19 vaccination was dominant from the perspective of the healthcare payer.

First-episode psychosis intervention programme versus standard care for the clinical management of early phases of psychosis: cost analysis.

BACKGROUND: Early intervention programmes (EIPs) in psychosis have gained attention as specialised interventions to improve health-related and societal impacts for people with psychotic disorders. Previous studies have presented evidence in favour of EIPs over the first year of intervention, despite none considering the critical period before psychosis onset (5 years). AIMS: To compare the associated costs of the First Episode Psychosis Intervention Program (CRUPEP) and treatment as usual (TAU) in a real-world cohort in a non-specialised psychiatric community setting. METHOD: Direct and indirect mental health-related costs were calculated over 1 year and up to 7 years. Healthcare and societal costs were calculated from economic data related to the consumption of all healthcare resources, including emergency department attendances, hospital admissions, psychotropic medication prescriptions and societal costs. RESULTS: From a healthcare perspective, the intervention (CRUPEP) group initially showed a marginally higher cost per patient than the TAU group (€7621 TAU group v. €11 904 CRUPEP group) over the first year of follow-up. However, this difference was reversed between the groups on considering the entire follow-up, with the TAU group showing considerably higher associated costs per patient (€77 026 TAU v. €25 247 CRUPEP). CONCLUSIONS: The EIP (CRUPEP) showed clinical benefits and minimised the direct and indirect health-related costs of the management of psychosis. Although the CRUPEP intervention initially reported increased costs over 1 year, TAU surpassed the global costs over the entire follow-up.

Excess healthcare costs of mental disorders in children, adolescents and young adults in the Basque population registry adjusted for socioeconomic status and sex.

BACKGROUND: Mental illnesses account for a considerable proportion of the global burden of disease. Economic evaluation of public policies and interventions aimed at mental health is crucial to inform decisions and improve the provision of healthcare services, but experts highlight that nowadays the cost implications of mental illness are not properly quantified. The objective was to measure the costs of excess use of all healthcare services by 1- to 30-year-olds in the Basque population as a function of whether or not they had a mental disorder diagnosis. METHODS: A real-world data study was used to identify diagnoses of mental disorders and to measure resource use in the Basque Health Service Registry in 2018. Diagnoses were aggregated into eight diagnostic clusters: anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorders, mood disorders, substance use, psychosis and personality disorders, eating disorders, and self-harm. We calculated the costs incurred by each individual by multiplying the resource use by the unit costs. Annual costs for each cluster were compared with those for individuals with no diagnosed mental disorders through entropy balancing and two-part models which adjusted for socioeconomic status (SES). RESULTS: Of the 609,381 individuals included, 96,671 (15.9%) had ≥ 1 mental disorder diagnosis. The annual cost per person was two-fold higher in the group diagnosed with mental disorders (€699.7) than that with no diagnoses (€274.6). For all clusters, annual excess costs associated with mental disorders were significant. The adjustment also evidenced a social gradient in healthcare costs, individuals with lower SES consuming more resources than those with medium and higher SES across all clusters. Nonetheless, the effect of being diagnosed with a mental disorder had a greater impact on the mean and excess costs than SES. CONCLUSIONS: Results were consistent in showing that young people with mental disorders place a greater burden on healthcare services. Excess costs were higher for severe mental disorders like self-harm and psychoses, and lower SES individuals incurred, overall, more than twice the costs per person with no diagnoses. A socioeconomic gradient was notable, excess costs being higher in low SES individuals than those with a high-to-medium SES. Differences by sex were also statistically significant but their sizes were smaller than those related to SES.

Cost-utility analysis of the UPRIGHT intervention promoting resilience in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: As mental health in adulthood is related to mental status during adolescence, school-based interventions have been proposed to improve resilience. The objective of this study was to build a simulation model representing the natural history of mental disorders in childhood, adolescence and youth to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the UPRIGHT school-based intervention in promoting resilience and mental health in adolescence. METHODS: We built a discrete event simulation model fed with real-world data (cumulative incidence disaggregated into eight clusters) from the Basque Health Service database (609,381 individuals) to calculate utilities (quality-adjusted life years [QALYs]) and costs for the general population in two scenarios (base case and intervention). The model translated changes in the wellbeing of adolescents into different risks of mental illnesses for a time horizon of 30 years. RESULTS: The number of cases of anxiety was estimated to fall by 5,125 or 9,592 and those of depression by 1,269 and 2,165 if the effect of the intervention lasted 2 or 5 years respectively. From a healthcare system perspective, the intervention was cost-effective for all cases considered with incremental cost-utility ratios always lower than €10,000/QALY and dominant for some subgroups. The intervention was always dominant when including indirect and non-medical costs (societal perspective). CONCLUSIONS: Although the primary analysis of the trial did not did not detect significant differences, the UPRIGHT intervention promoting positive mental health was dominant in the economic evaluation from the societal perspective. Promoting resilience was more cost-effective in the most deprived group. Despite a lack of information about the spillover effect in some sectors, the economic evaluation framework developed principally for pharmacoeconomics can be applied to interventions to promote resilience in adolescents. As prevention of mental health disorders is even more necessary in the post-coronavirus disease-19 era, such evaluation is essential to assess whether investment in mental health promotion would be good value for money by avoiding costs for healthcare providers and other stakeholders.

Budget impact analysis of the use of Souvenaid in patients with prodromal Alzheimer's Disease in Spain.

INTRODUCTION: The effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of the use of Souvenaid for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been previously evidenced. To complete the economic analysis, there is a need to assess whether society can afford it. The objective of this study was to carry out a budget impact analysis of the use of Souvenaid in Spain under the conditions of the LipiDidiet clinical trial from a societal perspective. METHODS: We built a population model that took into account all the cohorts of individuals with AD, their individual progression, and the potential impact of Souvenaid treatment on their trajectories. Patient progression data were obtained from mixed models. The target population was estimated based on the population forecast for 2020-2035 and the incidence of dementia. Individual progression to dementia measured by the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes was reproduced using mixed models. Besides the costs of treatment and diagnosis, direct costs of medical and non-medical care and indirect costs were included. RESULTS: The epidemiological indicators and the distribution of life expectancy by stages validated the model. From the third year (2022), the differences in the cost of dementia offset the incremental cost of diagnosis and treatment. The costs of dependency reached €500 million/year while those of the intervention were limited to €40 million. CONCLUSIONS: Souvenaid, with modest effectiveness in delaying dementia associated with AD, achieved a positive economic balance between costs and savings. Its use in the treatment of prodromal AD would imply an initial cost that would be ongoing, but this would be offset by savings in the care system for dependency associated with dementia from the third year. These results were based on adopting a societal perspective taking into account the effect of treatment on the use of health, social, and family resources.

Health care costs of breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancer care by clinical stage and cost component.

OBJECTIVE: To measure 3-year care costs of breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancers disaggregated by site and clinical stage. METHOD: A retrospective observational design was employed to investigate care costs of cases recorded in the Registry of the Basque Country between 2010 and 2015. Data gathered included TNM stage and demographic, clinical and resource use variables. Total costs per patient with stage IV disease were calculated by combining generalized linear models with parametric survival analysis. Unit costs were obtained from the analytical accounting system of the Basque Health Service. RESULTS: The sample comprised 23,782 cancer cases (7801 colorectal, 5530 breast, 4802 prostate and 5649 lung cancer). The mean 3-year costs per patient with stage I to III disease were €11,323, €13,727, €8,651 and €12,023 for colorectal, breast, prostate and lung cancer, respectively. The most important cost components were surgery and chemotherapy. Total survival-adjusted costs until death for patients with stage IV disease (€27,568, €26,296, €16,151 and €15,931 for breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer, respectively) were higher than the 3-year costs for those with earlier-stage disease. CONCLUSIONS: This study quantitatively shows the pattern of changes in the economic burden of cancer throughout its natural history and the great magnitude of this burden for the health system. The use of indicators based on real-world data from each regional health service would allow cancer care in each region to be tailored to local population needs.

Stratified cost-utility analysis of total hip arthroplasty in displaced femoral neck fracture.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a stratified cost-utility analysis of total versus partial hip arthroplasty as a function of clinical subtype. METHOD: All cases of this type of intervention were analysed between 2010 and 2016 in the Basque Health Service, gathering data on clinical outcomes and resource use to calculate the cost and utility in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) at individual level. The statistical analysis included applying the propensity score to balance the groups, and seemingly unrelated regression models to calculate the incremental cost-utility ratio and plot the cost-effectiveness plane. The interaction between age group and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) risk class was assessed in the multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The study identified 5867 patients diagnosed with femoral neck fracture, of whom 1307 and 4560 were treated with total and partial hip arthroplasty, respectively. In the cost-utility analysis based on the seemingly unrelated regression, total hip arthroplasty was found to have a higher cost and higher utility (2465€ and 0.42 QALYs). Considering a willingness-to-pay threshold of €22,000 per QALY, total hip arthroplasty was cost-effective in the under-80-year-old subgroup. Among patients above this age, hemiarthroplasty was cost-effective in ASA class I-II patients and dominant in ASA class III-IV patients. CONCLUSIONS: Subgroup analysis supports current daily clinical practice in displaced femoral neck fractures, namely, using partial replacement in most patients and reserving total replacement for younger patients.

Development and Validation of a Discrete Event Simulation Model to Evaluate the Cardiovascular Impact of Population Policies for Obesity.

INTRODUCTION: Our aim was to describe the development and validation of an obesity model representing the cardiovascular risks associated with different body mass index (BMI) categories, through simulation, designed to evaluate the epidemiological and economic impact of population policies for obesity. METHODS: A discrete event simulation model was built in R considering the risk of cardiovascular events (heart failure, stroke, coronary heart disease, and diabetes) associated with BMI categories in the Spanish population. The main parameters included in the model were estimated from Spanish hospital discharge records and the Spanish Health Survey and allowed both first-order and second-order (probabilistic sensitivity analysis) uncertainty to be programmed into the model. The simulation yielded the incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular events as validation outputs. To illustrate the capacity of the model, we estimated the reduction in cardiovascular events and cost-utility (incremental cost/incremental quality-adjusted life-years [QALYs]) of a hypothetical intervention that fully eliminated the cardiovascular risks associated with obesity and overweight. RESULTS: The Validation Status of Health-Economic decision models (AdViSHE) tool was applied. Internal validation plots showed adequate goodness of fit for the Spanish population. External validation was achieved by comparing the simulated and real incidence by age group for stroke, acute myocardial infarction, and heart failure. The intervention reduced the population hazard ratios of stroke, acute myocardial infarction, and heart failure to 0.81, 0.74, and 0.78, respectively, and added 0.74 QALYs to the whole population. CONCLUSIONS: This obesity simulation model evidenced good properties for estimating the long-term epidemiological and economic impact of policies to tackle obesity in Spain. The conceptual model could be implemented for other counties using country-specific input data.

Economic evaluation of supplementing the diet with Souvenaid in patients with prodromal Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: The LipiDiDiet trial showed that Souvenaid, a medical food, might delay progression to dementia in prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD). The objective of this study was to assess the cost-utility of Souvenaid compared to placebo in patients with prodromal AD under the conditions applied in that trial. METHODS: A discrete event simulation model was developed based on the LipiDiDiet trial and a literature review to assess the cost-utility of Souvenaid from a societal perspective considering direct and indirect costs. For both intervention and control groups, patient trajectories in terms of functional decline on the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) scale in LipiDiDiet were reproduced statistically with mixed models by assigning time until events to simulated patients. From the societal perspective, four scenarios were analysed by combining different options for treatment duration and diagnostic test cost. Univariate sensitivity analysis assessed parameter uncertainties. RESULTS: Validation results at year 2 of disease progression fit with CDR-SB progression in LipiDiDiet. The incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) in the baseline case was €22,743/quality-adjusted life year (QALY). All scenarios rendered an ICUR lower than €25,000/QALY (the societal threshold). Moreover, the treatment option was cost-saving and increased health benefits when diagnostic costs were not considered and treatment was only administered during the prodromal stage. CONCLUSIONS: Treating prodromal AD with Souvenaid is a cost-effective intervention in all scenarios analysed. The LipiDiDiet trial showed a modest improvement in disease course but as the social costs of AD are very high, the intervention was efficient. Assessing small benefits at specific stages of AD is relevant because it is reasonable to expect that no effective, safe and affordable disease-modifying therapies will become available in the short to medium term.

Stage- and age-adjusted cost-effectiveness analysis of laparoscopic surgery in rectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: It has been argued that laparoscopy should be a standard treatment in rectal cancer due to its greater technical complexity. The objective of this study was to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis to compare laparoscopy with open surgery for rectal cancer adjusting for age and clinical stage. METHODS: A real-world prospective cost-effectiveness cohort study was conducted with data on costs and effectiveness at individual patient level. A "genetic matching" algorithm was used to correct for selection bias. After balancing the sample groups, combined multivariate analysis of total costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) was performed using seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) models. These models were first constructed without interactions and, subsequently, effects of any age-stage interaction were analyzed. RESULTS: The sample included 601 patients (400 by laparoscopy and 201 by open surgery). Crude cost-effectiveness analysis indicated that overall laparoscopy was cheaper and associated with higher QALYs. The SUR models without interactions showed that while laparoscopy remained dominant, the incremental effectiveness decreased to the point that it offered no statistically significant benefits over open surgery. In the subgroup analysis, at advanced stages of the disease, although none of the coefficients were significant, the mean incremental effectiveness (QALYs value) for laparoscopy was positive in younger patients and negative in older patients. Further, for advanced stages, the mean cost of open surgery was lower in both age subgroups but differences did not reach statistical significance. In early stages, laparoscopy cost was significantly lower in the subgroup younger than 70 and higher in the older subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: The cost-effectiveness of laparoscopy in surgery for rectal cancer justifies this being the standard surgical procedure in young patients and those at initial stages. The choice of procedure should be discussed with patients who are older and/or in advanced stages of the disease. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02488161.

Probabilistic cost-utility analysis and expected value of perfect information for the Oncotype multigenic test: a discrete event simulation model.

OBJECTIVE: To carry out a cost-utility analysis of the application of the Oncotype genomic test to inform the decision to use or not to use chemotherapy in the Basque Country (Spain). METHOD: The cost-utility study was carried out using a discrete event simulation model representing the natural history of breast cancer. The decision of treatment with chemotherapy based on Oncotype was compared with the standard of treatment based on clinical-pathological criteria. The model included clinical data from Basque hospitals and the literature and was processed by deterministic and probabilistic analysis to calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), the cost-effectiveness plane, the acceptability curve and the expected value of perfect information. The study adopted both a health and societal perspective. RESULTS: From a health perspective, the deterministic analysis estimated an ICER for Oncotype of 17,453 euros/quality-adjusted life year (QALY), discount included, and 9,613 euros/QALY without the discount. Eighty five percent (85%) of the simulations were below the efficiency threshold for Spain. The parametric variability associated with the Oncotype results was the main uncertainty factor in the decision. CONCLUSIONS: Oncotype is a cost-effective intervention from a health system perspective since each QALY gained costs less than 25,000 euros. From a societal perspective, it is dominant since it provides greater health and is accompanied by cost savings.

Dementia-related neuropsychiatric symptoms: inequalities in pharmacological treatment and institutionalization.

BACKGROUND: Dementia-related neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are the main determinant of family stress and institutionalization of patients. This study aimed to identify inequalities by gender and socioeconomic status in the management of NPS in patients diagnosed with dementia. METHODS: An observational study was carried out to study all the cases of dementia in the corporate database of the Basque Health Service (29,864 patients). The prescription of antipsychotics and antidepressants and admission to a nursing home were used to establish the presence of NPS. The socioeconomic status of individuals was classified by a deprivation index. Logistic regressions were used to identify drivers for drug prescriptions and institutionalization. RESULTS: NPS are poorly recorded in the clinical databases (12%). Neuropsychiatric symptoms were severe enough in two thirds of patients with dementia to be treated with psychoactive medication. Institutionalization showed an increase from those who did not receive medication to those who had been prescribed antidepressants (OR: 1.546), antipsychotics (OR: 2.075) or both (OR: 2.741). The resulting inequalities were the increased prescription of antidepressant drugs in women and more nursing-home admissions for women who were the least socioeconomically deprived and men who were the most deprived. CONCLUSIONS: In large clinical databases, psychoactive drugs prescriptions can be useful to underscore the considerable burden of dementia-related NPS. Specific tools are needed to monitor social and health care programs targeted to dementia-related NPS from a population perspective. Programs aimed at reducing the family burden of care of dementia patients at home become the key elements in reducing inequalities in these patients' care. Socioeconomic status is the most important driver of inequality, and gender inequality may simply be hidden within the social environment. Integrated programs boosting the continuity of care are an objective for which compliance could be measured according to the NPS coding in the electronic health record.

Inequalities in health-related quality of life according to age, gender, educational level, social class, body mass index and chronic diseases using the Spanish value set for Euroquol 5D-5L questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Reducing health inequalities on the basis of social factors has been a key driver in the development of Public Health policies. Health-related quality of life is a global indicator useful to assess health inequalities within a society. The objective of this study was to identify inequalities on health by analysing the interactive effects of gender, age, educational level, social class, body mass index and chronic diseases on health-related quality of life in a Spanish population sample. METHODS: We used data from the Spanish National Health Survey 2011-2012. Health-related quality of life was measured by the EQ-5D-5L instrument applying the Spanish value set. Probability of being in perfect health was ascertained by logistic regression models including gender, age, educational level, body mass index and social class and the corresponding terms of interaction. A two-part model combining logistic regression analysis and generalized linear models was applied to calculate the adjusted utility loss associated with chronic conditions (disutility values). RESULTS: The sample used for analysis contained 18,450 individuals. The mean age was 50 years, 51.3% were women, 55% were overweight or obese and 46.7% had low social status. The mean utility was 0.94 in men and 0.89 in women. Elderly women, obese people, those of low social class and those with chronic conditions had significant lower utility values. Within the regression analysis, interaction assessment revealed that the detrimental effect of obesity disappeared in higher social classes. Utility values for all chronic conditions considered were lower in women than in men and were on a gradient within social class, the lowest for individuals declaring stroke. The greatest decrease on health-related quality of life was determined by declaration of stroke (17.6%) or mental diseases (18.6%). CONCLUSIONS: The interactive effects of gender, age, educational level, social class, body mass index and chronic diseases on health-related quality of life in the Spanish population revealed important inequalities in health. Social class acted as a modulator of the stigma associated with obesity. Chronic conditions producing loss of autonomy had the greatest impact on reduction of health-related quality of life. This is the first study using the Spanish EQ-5D-5L value set to estimate utilities.

Economic evaluation of a population strategy for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C with direct-acting antivirals.

The high initial cost of antivirals against hepatitis C prompted development of the "Strategic Plan for Tackling Chronic Hepatitis C in the Spanish National Health System". The objective of this study was the economic evaluation of the first two years of its application in Navarre, Spain. The change in the natural history of hepatitis C produced by the sustained virological response (SVR) was compared to an alternative without treatment and modeled with patient-level data. By means of a discrete events simulation model, the cost-effectiveness and the budget impact analysis of the treatment program were measured from the perspective of the Navarre Health Service. Of 656 patients treated, 98% had SVR. The average cost of the treatments was 18,743 euros per patient. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) with discount was 5,346 euros per quality-adjusted life years, which became more efficient as the stage of fibrosis increased until it reached levels of dominance in stage 4 fibrosis. The associated costs for chronic liver disease decreased as the benefit of the treatment was expressed. The implementation of the Strategic Plan is cost-effective, with an ICER well below the threshold, since the cost of treatment is largely compensated by savings in long-term health expenditure. The budgetary impact foresees a net saving from the third year on. The two key parameters were the decrease in the price of the treatment and the SVR in nearly 100% of the patients.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of laparoscopic versus open surgery in colon cancer.

BACKGROUND: Few economic evaluations have assessed laparoscopy for colon cancer. This study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of laparoscopic and open surgery for the treatment of colon cancer. METHOD: A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed comparing two groups of patients treated according to standard clinical practice (REDISSEC-CARESS/CCR cohort) by laparoscopic or open surgery. Data were collected from health records on clinical characteristics and resource use over 2 years after surgery. To calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were obtained for each patient. Clinical heterogeneity was addressed using propensity score and joint multivariable analysis (seemingly unrelated regression) that included interactions between TNM stage, age, and surgical procedure to perform subgroup analysis. RESULTS: The sample was composed of 1591 patients, 963 who underwent laparoscopy and 628 open surgery. Using propensity score and regression analysis, we found that laparoscopy was associated with more QALYs and less resource use than open surgery (0.0163 QALYs, 95% CI 0.0114-0.0212; and - €3461, 95% CI - 3337 to - 3586). Costs were lower for laparoscopy in all subgroups. In the subgroups younger than 80 years old, utility was higher in patients who underwent laparoscopy. Nevertheless, open surgery had better outcomes in older patients in stages I-II (0.0618 QALYs) and IV (0.5090 QALYs). CONCLUSION: Overall, laparoscopy appears to be dominant, resulting in more QALYs and lower costs. Nevertheless, while laparoscopy required fewer resources in all subgroups, outcomes may be negatively affected in elderly patients, representing an opportunity for shared decision making between surgeons and patients. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02488161.

Cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses of a colorectal cancer screening programme in a high adenoma prevalence scenario using MISCAN-Colon microsimulation model.

BACKGROUND: The Basque Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme began in 2009 and the implementation has been complete since 2013. Faecal immunological testing was used for screening in individuals between 50 and 69 years old. Colorectal Cancer in Basque country is characterized by unusual epidemiological features given that Colorectal Cancer incidence is similar to other European countries while adenoma prevalence is higher. The object of our study was to economically evaluate the programme via cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses with microsimulation models. METHODS: We applied the Microsimulation Screening Analysis (MISCAN)-Colon model to predict trends in Colorectal Cancer incidence and mortality and to quantify the short- and long-term effects and costs of the Basque Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme. The model was calibrated to the Basque demographics in 2008 and age-specific Colorectal Cancer incidence data in the Basque Cancer Registry from 2005 to 2008 before the screening begun. The model was also calibrated to the high adenoma prevalence observed for the Basque population in a previously published study. The multi-cohort approach used in the model included all the cohorts in the programme during 30 years of implementation, with lifetime follow-up. Unit costs were obtained from the Basque Health Service and both cost-effectiveness analysis and budget impact analysis were carried out. RESULTS: The goodness-of-fit of the model adaptation to observed programme data was evidence of validation. In the cost-effectiveness analysis, the savings from treatment were larger than the added costs due to screening. Thus, the Basque programme was dominant compared to no screening, as life expectancy increased by 29.3 days per person. The savings in the budget analysis appeared 10 years after the complete implementation of the programme. The average annual budget was €73.4 million from year 2023 onwards. CONCLUSIONS: This economic evaluation showed a screening intervention with a major health gain that also produced net savings when a long follow-up was used to capture the late economic benefit. The number of colonoscopies required was high but remain within the capacity of the Basque Health Service. So far in Europe, no other population Colorectal Cancer screening programme has been evaluated by budget impact analysis.

Clinical and economic impact of the 21-gene recurrence score assay in adjuvant therapy decision making in patients with early-stage breast cancer: pooled analysis in 4 Basque Country university hospitals.

PURPOSE: The 21-gene recurrence score (RS) is a genomic test developed as a prognostic and predictive tool to improve the treatment decision making in cases of estrogen receptor-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative early-stage breast cancer. This study examined the clinical and economic impact of its use in 4 Basque Country university hospitals. METHODS: Taking into consideration the RS result, we recorded the recommended initial systemic adjuvant therapy (endocrine therapy with or without chemotherapy) according to standard clinicopathologic factors and the final decision about chemotherapy. Then, if the RS was high, chemotherapy was recommended; it was not recommended if the RS was low; for those with an intermediate RS, clinicopathologic factors were considered, and the initial recommendation based on those factors was maintained. In addition, the probability of switching treatment was calculated. Then, we developed an economic evaluation by measuring the treatment's incremental short-term budget impact from both the societal perspective and that of the Basque Health System. Patients' characteristics and chemotherapy use were analyzed using logistic regressions and receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: Without an RS, chemotherapy would have been prescribed to 56% of 401 patients, but, with RS use, that percentage decreased to 25. The overall rate of decision change was 35.4%. Test inclusion led to a reduction in chemotherapy costs of €922 per patient in the total population. Although this reduction did not entirely offset the cost of the test, the productivity loss per patient was reduced by €1,977. CONCLUSION: The 21-gene RS test significantly changed the indication for chemotherapy. As chemotherapy treatments with no benefit were avoided, patients' quality of life was improved. The short-term economic impact was negative for the Basque Health Service, but savings resulted when sick-leave costs were included.