Utility-Based Instruments for People with Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis

Abstract

Background: Several utility-based instruments have been applied in cost-utility analysis to assess health state values for people with dementia. Nevertheless, concerns and uncertainty regarding their performance for people with dementia have been raised.

Objectives: To assess the performance of available utility-based instruments for people with dementia by comparing their psychometric properties and to explore factors that cause variations in the reported health state values generated from those instruments by conducting meta-regression analyses.

Methods: A literature search was conducted and psychometric properties were synthesized to demonstrate the overall performance of each instrument. When available, health state values and variables such as the type of instrument and cognitive impairment levels were extracted from each article. A meta-regression analysis was undertaken and available covariates were included in the models.

Results: A total of 64 studies providing preference-based values were identified and included. The EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire demonstrated the best combination of feasibility, reliability, and validity. Meta-regression analyses suggested that significant differences exist between instruments, type of respondents, and mode of administration and the variations in estimated utility values had influences on incremental quality-adjusted life-year calculation.

Conclusions: This review finds that the EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire is the most valid utility-based instrument for people with dementia, but should be replaced by others under certain circumstances. Although no utility estimates were reported in the article, the meta-regression analyses that examined variations in utility estimates produced by different instruments impact on cost-utility analysis, potentially altering the decision-making process in some circumstances.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; preference-based measures; systematic review; utility assessment.