Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34655364›Full record

ArticleThe European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care2022

Estimation of the cost-effective threshold of a quality-adjusted life year in China based on the value of statistical life.

Dan Cai, Si Shi, Shan Jiang, Lei Si, Jing Wu, Yawen Jiang

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
62citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

62 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Cost Effectiveness of Catheter Ablation Versus Antiarrhythmic Drugs for Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2025
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2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Dan CaiSchool of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Si ShiSchool of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Shan JiangSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Lei SiThe George Institute for Global Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, Australia.
Jing WuSchool of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, No. 92 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, China. jingwu@tju.edu.cn.
Yawen JiangSchool of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. jiangyw26@mail.sysu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0498-0662

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cost-effective threshold (CET) is essential for health technology assessment and decision-making based on health economic evaluations. Recently, it has been argued that the commonly used once and three times of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita CETs of a quality-adjusted life year (QALY) are not necessarily empirically supported in all countries. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the CET of a QALY as times of GDP per capita in China, of which the reimbursement coverage decisions are increasingly engaging economic evaluations. Estimates on the value of statistical life (VSL) in China were identified from several studies in the literature and converted to times of GDP per capita, the weighted average of which was used for subsequent calculation. By pooling data on population mortality, health utility, and age distribution, we estimated the value of a statistical QALY (VSQ) from VSL using an established mathematical process, which represented the theoretical upper bound of CET. The corresponding point estimate and theoretical lower bound were obtained using their numerical relationships with the upper bound. Scenarios analyses were also conducted. The estimated CET, its upper bound, and its lower bound were 1.45, 2.90, and 1.16 times of GDP per capita in China, respectively. In different scenarios, the estimated CET varied but was greater than once GDP per capita in most cases. As such, the CET of a QALY in China is close to 1.5 times of GDP per capita, which should be benchmarked for future ICER-based coverage decisions.

Indexed as

Technology Assessment, BiomedicalAge DistributionChinaCost-Benefit AnalysisGross Domestic ProductHumansQuality-Adjusted Life YearsChinaI18QALYThresholdWillingness-to-pay

Identifiers

PMID34655364
PMCPMC9135816

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.