title: Valuing health across the lifespan: health state preferences for seasonal influenza illnesses in patients of different ages.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study sought to measure whether public values for health states vary with the age of the affected individual.
  
  
  METHODS
  Health state preferences were measured via a 15-minute survey administered through the Internet in December 2007 using a probability sample of the adult population of the United States (N = 1012). Respondents were asked to value hypothetical descriptions of seasonal influenza illness (uncomplicated influenza illness, hospitalization) and possible vaccine-related adverse events (anaphylaxis, Guillain-Barré syndrome) using time trade-off or willingness-to-pay questions. Respondents were randomized to four different ages for an affected hypothetical individual: 1-year-old, 8-year-old, 35-year-old, 85-year-old. All other aspects of the health state description were held constant. Summary statistics for each health state and age were calculated. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to measure differences in responses across ages of affected individuals in the hypothetical scenarios. Regression analyses were used to evaluate the effect of age on time trade-off or willingness-to-pay amounts controlling for respondent characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median values for time trade-off and willingness-to-pay were highest for young children. This pattern was generally consistent across responses and type of valuation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Approaches that assume health state values do not differ with the age of a patient may bias economic analyses that use these values. If patient age is likely to affect health state valuations, then age should be included as an attribute in the valuation exercise.
authors.affiliation: Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. lisapros@med.umich.edu
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Prosser
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rusinak
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uyeki
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Messonnier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017059:Models, Econometric; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics