Mapping the Peds QL^TM 4.0 onto CHU-9D: a cross-sectional study in functional dyspepsia population from China

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health Outcomes Research
• Health Economics
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Functional dyspepsia (FD) significantly impacts children's quality of life.
• Accurate health utility measures are crucial for health technology assessments (HTA).
• Existing data often relies on instruments like the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 (Peds QL 4.0), not directly providing utility values.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a mapping algorithm linking Peds QL 4.0 scores to Child Health Utility 9D (CHU-9D) values.
• To enable the estimation of health utility values from Peds QL 4.0 data in pediatric populations.
• To support HTA in studies where only Peds QL 4.0 data is available.

Main Methods:

• Utilized cross-sectional data from 2,152 Chinese children and adolescents diagnosed with FD.
• Employed six regression models, including Tobit regression, for direct and response mapping.
• Assessed model performance using metrics like Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), and Consistent Correlation Coefficient (CCC).

Main Results:

• The Tobit regression model, incorporating Peds QL 4.0 item scores, gender, and age, demonstrated the highest predictive accuracy.
• The study identified the optimal combination of independent variables for accurate mapping.
• Performance metrics confirmed the reliability of the developed mapping algorithm.

Conclusions:

• A validated mapping algorithm effectively transforms Peds QL 4.0 data into CHU-9D health utility values.
• This algorithm is valuable for HTA in clinical studies limited to Peds QL 4.0 data collection.
• Facilitates more comprehensive economic evaluations in pediatric FD research.