UTILITY INDICES IN OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA PATIENTS

PURPOSE: Utility instruments measure quality of life by assessing the patient's preference for a given health state on a scale from 0 (corresponding to death) to 1 (perfect health). Multiplying utility by the years spent in a particular health state provides quality adjusted life years (QALY), a measure used in cost-effectiveness analysis. Until now it is uncertain which utility instruments are suitable for application in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). Therefore, we compared the effect of CPAP therapy in OSA patients on utility measured by various instruments.