Question

The average life expectancy for a woman in Japan is 87 years. Due to recent advances in testing for cervical cancer, there is an increase in life expectancy by 15 years. The healthcare utility value is 0.8. Which of the following can be calculated from the parameters given?

• A. HALE
• B. DALY
• C. DFLE
• D. QALY

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

The given problem provides parameters that include an increase in life expectancy and a healthcare utility value. To understand which metric can be calculated, we should break down each option:

• HALE (Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy) estimates the average number of years a person can expect to live in "full health" by modifying life expectancy with factors like disease prevalence. The data provided does not specify disease prevalence apart from cancer testing.
• DALY (Disability-Adjusted Life Year) measures the overall disease burden and is the sum of years of potential life lost due to premature mortality and the years lived with disability. While this involves life expectancy and disability factors, it's not directly calculable from the provided utility value and life expectancy increase alone.
• DFLE (Disability-Free Life Expectancy) focuses on the number of remaining years a person can expect to live without disability. The question does not provide specific data on disability, so DFLE cannot be calculated directly.
• QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Year) is calculated by multiplying the additional years of life expectancy by the utility value. This represents the extra years adjusted for quality of life. Given:
  • Increase in life expectancy: 15 years
  • Healthcare utility value: 0.8
  The formula for QALY is: QALY = Increase in Life Expectancy × Utility Value = 15 × 0.8 = 12. Thus, the QALY can be calculated with the provided parameters.

Hence, from the given parameters, QALY is the metric that can be calculated.