Marta Trapero-Bertran  (Universitat Internacional de Catalunya)

Smoking, health related quality of life and economic evaluation   

Date: February, 25th At 13,00h

Room: 24 120 (Mercè Rodoreda Builiding) NOTE: NOT USUAL ROOM! - Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona

Abstract:

Background and aims: Economic evaluation of tobacco control policies requires the adoption of assumptions about the impact of changes in smoking status on health related quality of life. Estimates for such impacts are necessary for different populations. This paper aims to test whether smoking status has an independent effect on health related quality of life over and above the effect derived from the increased likelihood of suffering a tobacco related disease. Methods: Using data from the Spanish Encuesta Nacional de Salud of 2011-12, we estimate statistical models for health related quality of life as measured by the EQOL5D instrument as a function of smoking status. We include a comprehensive set of controls for biological, clinical, lifestyle conditions and socioeconomic characteristics. Results: With important differences across genders, smoking status has an independent, statistically significant effect on HRQOL. However the size of the effect is small. The typical smoking related disease is associated to a reduction in health related quality of life about 5 larger than the difference between current smokers and never smokers. Conclusion: A realistic representation of the effects of smoking on health related quality of life in economic evaluation should shy away from attributing large independent changes to quitting smoking or avoiding starting to smoke, since such changes are small once clinical conditions are controlled for. On the other hand, it is necessary to expand the set of classical smoking related diseases used in economic evaluation with other diseases for which new evidence showing a causal link to smoking exists. 
 

Bio: Lecturer and Research Fellow at Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC) and Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). Her main research interests include modelling techniques for economic evaluation, transmission of lifestyle behaviour, and incorporation of external effects into economic evaluation.She is the former President of the Spanish Association of Health Economics (AES). She defended her PhD in Health Economics at HERG-Brunel University. Before joining HERG, she graduated from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and London School of Economics (London) with an MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Financing and from Pompeu Fabra University (Spain) with an MSc in Applied Economics. She has a first degree in Economics.