title: Cost-effectiveness of anorexia nervosa in QALYs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The costs of treating eating disorders are often considered high.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to perform a cost-utility analysis to estimate the cost-effectiveness of treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-nine patients entering treatment of AN completed the 15D health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) questionnaire before and 2 years after the start of treatment. Direct hospital costs were obtained. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained were calculated and cost-utility assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients' baseline HRQoL was severely impaired. During follow-up, mean HRQoL improved statistically significantly. The cost per QALY gained was €5296 (best-case scenario) or €64 440 (base-case scenario) (€11 559 or €71 600 discounted 3%) depending on the assumptions used in the analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cost per QALY was in the same range as that of many other interventions provided in specialized medical care and within the limits usually considered acceptable, indicating that the treatment of AN is cost-effective.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry , Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa , Helsinki , Finland.|b City of Helsinki, Social Services and Health Care , Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse , Helsinki , Finland.|c Department of Psychiatry , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: Veera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pohjolainen
authors.affiliation: d External Evaluation Unit , Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa , Helsinki , Finland.|e Finnish Office for Health Technology Assessment (FINOHTA) , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: Pirjo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Räsänen
authors.affiliation: d External Evaluation Unit , Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa , Helsinki , Finland.|f Department of Health and Social Management , University of Eastern Finland , Kuopio , Finland.
authors.forename: Risto P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Roine
authors.affiliation: g Department of Public Health Science , University of Helsinki , Helsinki Finland.
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sintonen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry , Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa , Helsinki , Finland.|c Department of Psychiatry , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: Salla
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koponen
authors.affiliation: h Department of Psychiatry , University of Turku and Hospital District of Southwest Finland , Turku , Finland.
authors.forename: Hasse
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karlsson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: HRQoL (health-related quality-of-life); QALY (quality-adjusted life years); anorexia nervosa; eating disorders; economic evaluation