University of Tasmania
Browse

File(s) under permanent embargo

A head-to-head comparison of the EQ-5D-5L and AQoL-8D multi-attribute utility instruments in patients who have previously undergone bariatric surgery

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial health status is an important and dynamic outcome for bariatric/metabolic surgery patients, as acknowledged in recent international standardised outcomes reporting guidelines. Multi-attribute utility-instruments (MAUIs) capture and assess an individual's health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) within a single valuation, their utility. Neither MAUIs nor utilities were discussed in the guidelines. Many MAUIs (e.g. EQ-5D) target physical health. Not so the AQoL-8D.

OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to explore agreement between, and suitability of, the EQ-5D-5L and AQoL-8D for assessing health state utility, and to determine whether either MAUI could be preferentially recommended for metabolic/bariatric surgery patients.

METHODS: Utilities for post-surgical private-sector patients (n = 33) were assessed using both instruments and summary statistics expressed as mean [standard deviation (SD)] and median [interquartile range (IQR)]. Interchangeability of the MAUIs was assessed with Bland-Altman analysis. Discriminatory attributes were investigated through floor/ceiling effects and dimension-to-dimension comparisons. Spearman's rank measured associations between the instruments' utility values and with the body mass index (BMI).

RESULTS: Mean (SD) EQ-5D-5L utility value was 0.84 (0.15) and median 0.84 (IQR 0.75-1.00). Mean (SD) AQoL-8D utility value was 0.76 (0.17) and median 0.81 (IQR 0.63-0.88). Spearman's rank was r = 0.68; (p < 0.001); however, Bland-Altman analysis revealed fundamental differences. Neither instrument gave rise to floor effects. A ceiling effect was observed with the EQ-5D-5L, with 36 % of participants obtaining a utility value of 1.00 (perfect health). These same participants obtained a mean utility of 0.87 on the AQoL-8D, primarily driven by the mental-super-dimension score (0.52).

CONCLUSIONS: The AQoL-8D preferentially captures psychosocial aspects of metabolic/bariatric surgery patients' HRQoL. We recommend the AQoL-8D as a preferred MAUI for these patients given their complex physical/psychosocial needs.

Funding

National Health & Medical Research Council

Department of Health and Human Services Tasmania

Department of Premier and Cabinet

History

Publication title

The Patient

Volume

9

Issue

4

Pagination

311-322

ISSN

1178-1653

Department/School

Menzies Institute for Medical Research

Publisher

Adis International Ltd.

Place of publication

New Zealand

Rights statement

Copyright 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Evaluation of health outcomes

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC