Cost-utility model of an oral nutritional supplementation program in patients with disease-related malnutrition: an exploratory analysis based on a real-life cohort

Introduction: Background: disease-related malnutrition (DRM) negatively impacts patients' quality of life. Foods for special medical purposes (FSMP) may help mitigate the effects of DRM. Objective: to estimate the impact of a nutritional supplementation program with FSMP on the quality of life in adult patients with DRM. Methods: a cohort of patients with DRM were analyzed to identify changes in anthropometric variables and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using multiple linear regression. A Markov probabilistic simulation model was then constructed based on this information. Finally, costs and cost-effectiveness ratios were estimated for the use of Prowhey NET®. Results: the study analyzed 33 patients with a mean age of 78 years. HRQoL improved by 24 % during the follow-up period. Body weight and calf circumference were positively associated with HRQoL. A simulation involving 1,000 patients over four quarterly periods showed a sustained increase in anthropometric variables and overall utility. The annual cost of the APME per patient was $5,434,278, with a 52.5 % improvement in HRQoL. Conclusion: the simulation indicated that the use of an APME could be an cost-effective strategy to improve nutritional status and quality of life, as well as reduce healthcare costs in patients with DRM.