Objective: The costs of treating eating disorders are high. Our objective was to perform a cost-utility analysis of treatment of bulimia nervosa.
Method: 72 patients entering treatment of bulimia nervosa (ICD-10 diagnosis) completed the 15D health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaire and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) before and 6 months after the start of treatment. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained were calculated and cost-utility was assessed within the time horizon of 10 years.
Results: Baseline HRQoL was severely impaired in the patients. As a consequence of treatment, mean HRQoL improved clinically and statistically significantly. The cost per QALY gained varied from €1,455 to €16,481 (from €4,428 to €19,663 discounted at 5%) depending on the assumptions used in the analysis.
Discussion: HRQoL of bulimia nervosa patients is severely impaired, but treatment has a clear positive effect on HRQoL. The cost per QALY gained is comparable to many other treatments.
© 2009 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.