Skip Navigation


American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on January 6, 2009
American Journal of Epidemiology 2009 169(5):562-571; doi:10.1093/aje/kwn370
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
169/5/562    most recent
kwn370v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Witt, C. M.
Right arrow Articles by Willich, S. N.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Witt, C. M.
Right arrow Articles by Willich, S. N.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology © The Author 2009. Published by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Cost-Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Women and Men With Allergic Rhinitis: A Randomized Controlled Study in Usual Care

Claudia M. Witt, Thomas Reinhold, Susanne Jena, Benno Brinkhaus and Stefan N. Willich

Correspondence to Prof. Dr. Claudia M. Witt, Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité University Medical Center, 10098 Berlin, Germany (e-mail: claudia.witt{at}charite.de).

Received for publication June 20, 2008. Accepted for publication October 22, 2008.

To assess quality of life and cost-effectiveness of additional acupuncture treatment for allergic rhinitis, patients were randomly allocated to 2 groups; both received usual care, but one group received an additional 10 acupuncture sessions. Quality of life (according to the SF-36 Health Survey), and direct and indirect costs, were assessed at baseline and after 3 months, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of acupuncture treatment was calculated. This German study (December 2000–June 2004) involved 981 patients (64% women, mean age 40.9 years (standard deviation, 11.2); 36% men, mean age 43.2 years (standard deviation, 13.0)). At 3 months, quality of life was higher in the acupuncture group than in the control group (mean Physical Component Score 51.99 (standard error (SE), 0.33) vs. 48.25 (SE, 0.33), P < 0.001; mean Mental Component Score 48.55 (SE, 0.42) vs. 45.35 (SE, 0.42), respectively, P < 0.001). Overall costs in the acupuncture group were significantly higher than those in the control group (Euro ({euro}; {euro}1 = US $1.27)763, 95% confidence interval: 683, 844 vs. {euro}332, 95% confidence interval: 252, 412; mean difference {euro}432, 95% confidence interval: 318, 545). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was {euro}17,377 per quality-adjusted life year (women, {euro}10,155; men, {euro}44,871) and was robust in sensitivity analyses. Acupuncture, supplementary to routine care, was beneficial and, according to international benchmarks, cost-effective. However, because of the study design, it remains unclear whether the effects are acupuncture specific.

acupuncture; cost-benefit analysis; economics; quality of life; rhinitis, allergic, perennial; rhinitis, allergic, seasonal

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; ICER, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio; QALY, quality-adjusted life year; SF-36, Self-Rated Health Survey


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.