Sweden measures quality of life gains from weight-loss surgery for first time
Researchers have established the first standardized metrics for quality-of-life improvements following bariatric surgery using data from over 8,000 Swedish patients. The findings give payers and healthcare systems the evidence needed to justify reimbursement decisions and compare weight-loss surgery against other treatments in cost-effectiveness analyses.
Originaltitel: SF-6D normative values among patients undergoing bariatric surgery: results based on real-world evidence from the Scandinavian obesity surgery registry (SOREG)
<p>Background: The SF-6D index can be used to calculate quality-adjusted life years in economic evaluations, which is required by reimbursement agencies and national advisory bodies, including the Swedish ones. However, despite that SF-36 has been largely applied among patients undergoing bariatric surgery, almost no study has accessed the short form six-dimensions (SF-6D) after bariatric surgery.</p><p>Aim: To establish normative values for the SF-6D index among patients undergoing bariatric surgery.</p><p>Materials and Methods: All patients who received bariatric surgery in Sweden between 2011–01-01 and 2019–03-31 were obtained from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg). Information includes patients’ sociodemographic characteristics, details regarding the procedure, and postsurgical conditions. The SF-36 is applied at baseline and at follow-up years 1, 2, and 5. The multiple sequential imputation method was applied to handle missingness on SF-6D items. Based on the UK tariff, the SF-6D preference scores were calculated. The normative values for the mean (SD) SF-6D index were reported by timepoint and surgical complications for men and women, respectively. Multivariate analyses were applied to investigate how the SF-6D index is associated with timepoint, controlling for age, sex, BMI, and comorbidities in a stepwise manner.</p><p>Results: The SF-6D index increased at 1 year relative to baseline and was roughly maintained at the same level at 2 years. The normative value of the SF-6D index can be used in economic evaluations for bariatric surgery. </p>