Quantifying the Impact of Intervention on Health Outcomes: A Tool for Assessing Incremental Changes to Life Expectancy.

Singh S., Rivero-Arias O., Clarke P.

OBJECTIVES: Traditional life tables provide valuable insights into mortality patterns but need to be adapted for quantifying the benefits of medical interventions. This article presents a methodology that modifies life tables using relative risk data to estimate incremental changes in life expectancy. METHODS: We developed a calculator that applies this approach, allowing users to input risk-factor data with and without intervention to generate adjusted life expectancy estimates. The calculations to modify life-expectancy were based on estimating 'effective age', a concept widely used in risk communication studies. RESULTS: The calculator provides a structured approach for estimating life expectancy changes that can be used for health economic evaluations. Its user-friendly interface offers policy makers and researchers a framework to explore intervention outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: By incorporating relative risk data into life tables, this methodology supports a structured but simplified assessment of how medical interventions may influence life expectancy.

DOI

10.1016/j.jval.2025.03.021

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2025-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

28

Pages

988 - 992

Total pages

4

Keywords

effective age, life expectancy, life tables, relative risk, Humans, Life Expectancy, Life Tables, Quality-Adjusted Life Years, Risk Factors, Aged, Female, Middle Aged, Male, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Outcome Assessment, Health Care

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