Decision making in healthcare often involves decision alternatives that vary on different dimensions in conflicting ways, such as health benefits and costs. In such cases, it is not always easy to identify the best option, as a trade-off has to be made. In preference studies, patients evaluate...

Background:Background: Weight management is considered a key therapeutic strategy in type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, little is known about the impact of weight loss or body mass index (BMI) reduction on type 2 diabetes-related healthcare costs. Abstract: Objective:Objective: The aim of this...

Background:Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common life-shortening genetic disorder among Whites worldwide. Because many of these patients experience chronic endobronchial colonization and have to take antibiotics and be treated as inpatients, societal costs of CF may be high. As the...

Background:Background: National EQ-5D value sets are developed because preferences for health may vary in different populations. UK values are lower than US values for most of the 243 possible EQ-5D health states. Although similar protocols were used for data collection, analytic choices...

Introduction: Little is known regarding healthcare costs for HIV/AIDS patients in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and subgroups of patients according to the severity and progression of HIV infection in Sweden. The objective of this study is therefore to describe the...

Background: The primary characteristics of restless legs syndrome (RLS), including severe sleep disorders, restlessness in the evening and discomfort while at rest, have substantial impact on normal daily activities. Because of the high prevalence of RLS in the general population, it is...

Background: Osteoporosis is a condition marked by low bone mineral density and the deterioration of bone tissue. One of the main clinical and economic consequences of osteoporosis is skeletal fractures. Objective: To assess the healthcare and work loss costs of US patients with non-vertebral...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the CNS, typically striking adults during the primary productive time of their life. The symptoms of MS can restrict the individual's physical activity and income-earning ability, resulting in a major financial burden on the patient, family, health system...

Sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and fatigue, sleep deprivation and restless legs syndrome (RLS) are increasingly seen in clinical practice. Sleep is considered vital for preserving daytime cognitive function and physiological...

Economic evaluation of health technologies in the form of cost-utility analysis is increasingly advocated. The most common outcome measure in this type of analysis is the QALY. In order to estimate QALYs, appropriate utility values are required. The objective of this review was to identify and...