Journal
JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY
Volume 22, Issue 8, Pages 1306-1312Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2007.04930.x
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Background and Aim: New treatments for Crohn's disease are expensive and place economic strain upon health-care systems, and 'value-for-money' needs to be confirmed. This study aimed to correlate disease severity with health-related quality of life and with health-care resource use, to allow evaluation of the cost effectiveness of these treatments. Methods: A cross-sectional, non-interventional, pharmacoeconomics study was performed with patients completing questionnaires comprising demographic, disease and health-care utilization questions, together with the disease-specific Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ.) and the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) multiattribute utility instrument. The Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) was used to assess disease severity. Results: 143 patients with a broad range of disease severity (CDAI 36-446, fistulae 23%) were recruited from referral centers. Stepwise regression analyses demonstrated a negative correlation between disease severity and both IBDQ and AQoL (both P < 0.0001). Age, gender and years since diagnosis did not impact upon either of the quality-of-life outcomes. Mean utility score for non-fistulizing patients with moderate-severe active disease (CDAI >= 220) was 0.45, mild disease (CDAI 150-219) was 0.68 and for remission (CDAI < 150) was 0.77. Health-care resource utilization increased with increasing CDAI (P < 0.001), with hospital admissions being the largest component cost. Twenty-seven percent of patients (mean age 38 year) received a government benefit, 51% primarily due to their Crohn's disease. Conclusion: Crohn's disease severity correlates with poor quality of life. Utility scores determined will permit cost-utility analyses to be made in order to best allocate limited health resources.
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