Utility scores for chronic conditions in a community-dwelling population.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to determine utility scores for various chronic conditions.

DESIGN AND

SETTING

This study is a descriptive analysis. Health Utilities Index (HUI) scores for 20 chronic conditions were examined from the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) from 1994 to 1995.

PATIENTS AND

PARTICIPANTS

17,626 individuals were surveyed (54.3% women). Chronic conditions included: acne (requiring medication), Alzheimer's disease, arthritis/rheumatism, asthma, back problems excluding arthritis, chronic bronchitis or emphysema, cancer, cataracts, diabetes, epilepsy, food allergies, glaucoma, heart disease, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, other allergies, sinusitis, stroke, stomach/intestinal ulcers and urinary incontinence.

INTERVENTIONS: Health Utilities Index-Mark III (HUI-Mark III) scores for patients with and without a NPHS-defined chronic condition were collected. Utility scores were examined according to age, gender and comorbidity.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND

RESULTS

42.6% of individuals reported having no NPHS-defined chronic condition. The most commonly reported health conditions were allergies other than food (17.6%) and rheumatism/arthritis (16.5%). The mean HUI-Mark III scores for patients without a health state was 0.933 +/- 0.079. Individuals with Alzheimer's disease (0.580 +/- 0.263), stroke (0.676 +/- 0.230) and urinary incontinence (0.698 +/- 0.230) had the lowest overall HUI-Mark III scores. Utility scores decreased as age and as the number of comorbid conditions increased.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides health economists, researchers and policy-makers with a reference for health utilities of various chronic conditions, different age groups, gender and comorbidities.