Cost-Utility of Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy (ABCT) for Fibromyalgia Compared to Relaxation: A Pilot...

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Clinical Psychology
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Fibromyalgia (FM) significantly impacts patient quality of life and incurs substantial healthcare costs.
• Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy (ABCT) has shown efficacy in managing FM symptoms.
• A cost-utility analysis is crucial to evaluate the economic value of ABCT for FM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the cost-utility of Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy (ABCT) versus relaxation (REL) for fibromyalgia (FM).
• To assess the impact of ABCT and REL on quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and healthcare costs in FM patients.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 42 Spanish FM patients receiving 8 weekly group sessions of ABCT or REL.
• Cost-utility analysis using EQ-5D-3L for QALYs and Client Service Receipt Inventory for healthcare costs.
• Data analyzed using completers, intention-to-treat (ITT), and per-protocol approaches with 3-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• ABCT demonstrated greater improvements in quality of life and was less costly than REL at 3-month follow-up.
• Completers analysis: incremental cost of €-194.1 and incremental effect of 0.023 QALYs for ABCT vs. REL.
• ITT analysis: incremental cost of €-256.3 and incremental effect of 0.021 QALYs for ABCT vs. REL.

Conclusions:

• Attachment-Based Compassion Therapy (ABCT) presents a cost-effective intervention for fibromyalgia (FM) management compared to relaxation.
• ABCT enhances quality of life while potentially reducing healthcare expenditures for FM patients.
• Further research with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up is needed to confirm generalizability.