What can be concluded from the Oxcheck and British family heart studies: Commentary on cost effectiveness analyses

Objectives-To provide a commentary on the economic evaluations of the Oxcheck and British family heart studies: direct comparison of their relative effectiveness and cost effectiveness; comparisons with other interventions; and consideration of problems encountered. Design-Modelling from cost and effectiveness data to estimates of cost per life year gained. Subjects-Middle aged men and women. Interventions-Screening for cardiovascular risk factors followed by appropriate lifestyle advice and drug intervention in general practice, and other primary coronary risk management strategies. Main outcome measures-Life years gained; cost per life year gained. Results-Depending on the assumed duration of risk reduction, the programme cost per discounted life year gained ranged from pound 34 800 for a 1 year duration to pound 1500 for 20 years for the British family heart study and from pound 29 300 to pound 900 for Oxcheck. These figures exclude broader net clinical and cost effects and longer term clinical and cost effects other than coronary mortality. Conclusions-Despite differences in underlying methods, the estimates in the two economic analyses of the studies can be directly compared. Neither study was large enough to provide precise estimates of the overall net cost. Modelling to cost per life year gained provides more readily interpretable measures. These estimates emphasise the importance of the relatively weak evidence on duration of effect. Only if the effect lasts at least five years is the Oxcheck programme likely to be cost effective. The effect must last for about 10 years to justify the extra cost associated with the British family heart study.