For the first study, researchers delivered a high-protein oral nutritional supplement to 328 malnourished adults over the age of 65 hospitalized for congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A control group of 324 were administered a placebo. Among those administered the placebo, the death rate within 90 days post-discharge was 9.7 percent — for those given the supplement, the same measure was 4.8 percent.
For the second study, a cost-effectiveness evaluation found those given the specialized nutrition supplement experienced these improved health outcomes for less than $34,000 per quality adjusted life year. The typical benchmark for a QALY is $50,000 to $100,000. When projected over an estimated 8.77 years compared to the placebo group of 8.06 years, the therapy would cost only $524 for each year of life saved. Study authors argued the cost-effectiveness of the supplement to be comparable to other preventive treatments like aspirin and flu vaccines.
“The results of our study suggest an opportunity to improve the health and survival of these patients at a low marginal cost,” said Josh Cohen, PhD, deputy director of the Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health, Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies at Tufts Medical Center in Boston and one of the second study’s co-authors. “Few interventions that have been studied have shown health gains less expensively, particularly in this population.”
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