Defining utility values for patients with tardive dyskinesia

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Psychiatry
• Quality of Life Research

Background:

• Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a neurological disorder with significant impacts on quality of life (QOL).
• Estimating the societal burden of TD is crucial for evaluating treatment cost-effectiveness.
• Limited data exist on general population preferences for health states associated with TD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure health state preferences and estimate utility values for TD from the US general population perspective.
• To assess the impact of TD on QOL and quantify associated utility decrements.
• To inform cost-effectiveness analyses of TD interventions.

Main Methods:

• Recruited US general population participants.
• Utilized time tradeoff (TTO) methods to elicit utility values for simulated health states.
• Assessed nine health states, including TD alone and TD with psychiatric disorders.

Main Results:

• Mean utility for TD alone was 0.59 ± 0.38.
• Utility values were lower for conditions with TD compared to those without.
• Respondents were willing to give up 1.3–1.6 years of a 10-year lifespan to avoid TD.

Conclusions:

• Utility decrements for TD were larger than previously reported, possibly due to QOL and social factors.
• Findings can enhance cost-effectiveness models for TD treatments.
• Acknowledged limitation: willingness to trade years may not reflect actual life expectancy acceptance.