Comment on “External Validation of the Core Obesity Model to Assess the Cost-Effectiveness of Weight Management Interventions”

AbstractBackgroundTelephone-based support offers a promising option to provide widely accessible and cost-effective weight loss care to the people with knee osteoarthritis who are overweight. While telephone-based interventions targeting weight loss are used routinely in the general populations, the cost-effectiveness of referring patients with knee osteoarthritis to these is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of referral to a telephone-based weight management and healthy lifestyle service for patients with knee osteoarthritis, who are overweight or obese, compared to usual care.MethodsWe randomised 120 patients with knee osteoarthritis to an intervention or usual care control group in a 1:1 ratio. Participants in the intervention group received a referral to an existing non-disease specific 6-month telephone-based weight management and healthy lifestyle service. The primary outcome of the study was quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Secondary outcomes included pain intensity, disability, weight, and body mass index (BMI). Costs included intervention costs, healthcare utilisation costs (healthcare services and medication use) and absenteeism costs due to knee pain. The primary cost-effectiveness analysis was performed from the societal perspective.ResultsMean cost differences between groups (intervention minus control) were, $454 (95%CI: −2735 to 4206) for healthcare costs, $-36, (95%CI: −73 to 2) for medication costs, and $-13 (95%CI: −225 to 235) for absenteeism costs. The total mean difference in societal costs was $1022 (95%CI: −2201 to 4771). For all outcomes, the probability of the intervention being cost-effective compared with usual care was less than 0.33 at all willingness-to-pay values.ConclusionFrom a societal perspective, telephone-based weight loss support, provided using an existing non-disease specific 6-month weight management and healthy lifestyle service was not cost-effective in comparison with usual care for overweight and obese patients with knee osteoarthritis for QALYs, pain intensity, disability, weight, and BMI.

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Economic Evaluation of an Internet-Based Stress Management Intervention Alongside a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.10866 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Fanny Kählke ◽

Claudia Buntrock ◽

Filip Smit ◽

Matthias Berking ◽

Dirk Lehr ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Stress Management ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Cost Utility ◽

Cost Utility Analysis ◽

Utility Analysis ◽

Management Interventions ◽

Life Years ◽

The Cost

BACKGROUND Work-related stress is widespread among employees and associated with high costs for German society. Internet-based stress management interventions (iSMIs) are effective in reducing such stress. However, evidence for their cost-effectiveness is scant. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of a guided iSMI for employees. METHODS A sample of 264 employees with elevated symptoms of perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale≥22) was assigned to either the iSMI or a waitlist control condition (WLC) with unrestricted access to treatment as usual. Participants were recruited in Germany in 2013 and followed through 2014, and data were analyzed in 2017. The iSMI consisted of 7 sessions plus 1 booster session. It was based on problem-solving therapy and emotion regulation techniques. Costs were measured from the societal perspective, including all direct and indirect medical costs. We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis and a cost-utility analysis relating costs to a symptom-free person and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained, respectively. Sampling uncertainty was handled using nonparametric bootstrapping (N=5000). RESULTS When the society is not willing to pay anything to get an additional symptom-free person (eg, willingness-to-pay [WTP]=€0), there was a 70% probability that the intervention is more cost-effective than WLC. This probability rose to 85% and 93% when the society is willing to pay €1000 and €2000, respectively, for achieving an additional symptom-free person. The cost-utility analysis yielded a 76% probability that the intervention is more cost-effective than WLC at a conservative WTP threshold of €20,000 (US $25,800) per QALY gained. CONCLUSIONS Offering an iSMI to stressed employees has an acceptable likelihood of being cost-effective compared with WLC. CLINICALTRIAL German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00004749; https://www.drks.de/DRKS00004749 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPOR RR2-10.1186/1471-2458-13-655

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A Systematic Review of Methods to Predict Weight Trajectories in Health Economic Models of Behavioral Weight-Management Programs: The Potential Role of Psychosocial Factors

Medical Decision Making ◽

10.1177/0272989x19889897 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 90-105

Author(s):

Sarah Bates ◽

Thomas Bayley ◽

Paul Norman ◽

Penny Breeze ◽

Alan Brennan

Keyword(s):

Health Economic ◽

Weight Loss ◽

Economic Evaluation ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Weight Management ◽

Psychosocial Factors ◽

Economic Models ◽

Psychosocial Variables ◽

Management Interventions ◽

Weight Trajectories

Objectives. There is limited evidence on the long-term effectiveness of behavioral weight-management interventions, and thus, when conducting health economic modeling, assumptions are made about weight trajectories. The aims of this review were to examine these assumptions made about weight trajectories, the evidence sources used to justify them, and the impact of assumptions on estimated cost-effectiveness. Given the evidence that some psychosocial variables are associated with weight-loss trajectories, we also aimed to examine the extent to which psychosocial variables have been used to estimate weight trajectories and whether psychosocial variables were measured within cited evidence sources. Methods. A search of databases (Medline, PubMed, Cochrane, NHS Economic Evaluation, Embase, PSYCinfo, CINAHL, EconLit) was conducted using keywords related to overweight, weight-management, and economic evaluation. Economic evaluations of weight-management interventions that included modeling beyond trial data were included. Results. Within the 38 eligible articles, 6 types of assumptions were reported (weight loss maintained, weight loss regained immediately, linear weight regain, subgroup-specific trajectories, exponential decay of effect, maintenance followed by regain). Fifteen articles cited at least 1 evidence source to support the assumption reported. The assumption used affected the assessment of cost-effectiveness in 9 of the 19 studies that tested this in sensitivity analyses. None of the articles reported using psychosocial factors to estimate weight trajectories. However, psychosocial factors were measured in evidence sources cited by 11 health economic models. Conclusions. Given the range of weight trajectories reported and the potential impact on funding decisions, further research is warranted to investigate how psychosocial variables measured in trials can be used within health economic models to simulate heterogeneous weight trajectories and potentially improve the accuracy of cost-effectiveness estimates.

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A novel decision model to predict the impact of weight management interventions: The Core Obesity Model

Obesity Science & Practice ◽

10.1002/osp4.495 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sandra Lopes ◽

Henrik H. Meincke ◽

Mark Lamotte ◽

Anamaria‐Vera Olivieri ◽

Michael E. J. Lean

Keyword(s):

Weight Management ◽

Decision Model ◽

The Core ◽

Management Interventions ◽

The Impact

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