QUALITY-ADJUSTED LIFE EXPECTANCY (QALE) BY ETHNICITY IN ENGLAND: UPDATED ESTIMATES USING THE NEW EQ-5D-5L VALUE SET
Author(s)
Jamie Kettle, MMath1, Zheyuan Yang, MSc1, Alona Masheiko, PharmD, PhD1, Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, MA, MSc, PhD, MD1, James Koh, BA, MSc, PhD2, Catrin Treharne, BSc, MSc1.
1LCP Health, Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP), London, United Kingdom, 2NICE, Manchester, United Kingdom.
1LCP Health, Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP), London, United Kingdom, 2NICE, Manchester, United Kingdom.
OBJECTIVES: Distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA) extends conventional cost-effectiveness analysis by incorporating equity considerations, enabling assessment of how health benefits and costs are distributed across population subgroups. A key input to DCEA is the baseline distribution of quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE). Our previous work estimated QALE by ethnic group using Understanding Society data. This study aims to estimate QALE using the Health Survey for England (HSE), offering an alternative data source to improve the robustness of subgroup estimates.
METHODS: This study estimated QALE by combining life expectancy from Office for National Statistics (ONS) life tables by ethnic group (2011-2014) with pooled EQ-5D-5L data (N=14,413 adults) from the Health Survey for England Special Licence Access datasets (2017-2018). We adapted the ONS health state life expectancy estimation template to derive QALE from predicted EQ-5D values by ethnic group, using aggregated ethnic-specific mortality rates and disaggregating 5-year age bands into single-year-of-age intervals. Five ethnic groups were included in the analysis: Asian, Black, Mixed/multiple, White and Other. Utilities were calculated using the new EQ-5D-5L value set for the United Kingdom (Rowen, 2026). Fractional logistic regression was used to model the relationship between utility scores and demographic variables.
RESULTS: Weighted average QALE at birth was estimated from HSE data to be 72.3 years for men and 73.4 years for women. For men, QALE ranged from 70.7 to 74.2 years for Mixed/multiple and Other ethnic groups respectively. For women, QALE ranged from 71.8 to 75.3 years for Mixed/multiple and Black ethnic groups respectively. Across all ethnic groups, QALE formed a larger proportion of LE for men, suggesting a higher average quality-of-life compared to women.
CONCLUSIONS: These estimates form a valuable indicator of general health by ethnicity in England, enabling policymakers and researchers to explore health inequalities between ethnic groups, for example through DCEA, and design tailored public health strategies in response.
METHODS: This study estimated QALE by combining life expectancy from Office for National Statistics (ONS) life tables by ethnic group (2011-2014) with pooled EQ-5D-5L data (N=14,413 adults) from the Health Survey for England Special Licence Access datasets (2017-2018). We adapted the ONS health state life expectancy estimation template to derive QALE from predicted EQ-5D values by ethnic group, using aggregated ethnic-specific mortality rates and disaggregating 5-year age bands into single-year-of-age intervals. Five ethnic groups were included in the analysis: Asian, Black, Mixed/multiple, White and Other. Utilities were calculated using the new EQ-5D-5L value set for the United Kingdom (Rowen, 2026). Fractional logistic regression was used to model the relationship between utility scores and demographic variables.
RESULTS: Weighted average QALE at birth was estimated from HSE data to be 72.3 years for men and 73.4 years for women. For men, QALE ranged from 70.7 to 74.2 years for Mixed/multiple and Other ethnic groups respectively. For women, QALE ranged from 71.8 to 75.3 years for Mixed/multiple and Black ethnic groups respectively. Across all ethnic groups, QALE formed a larger proportion of LE for men, suggesting a higher average quality-of-life compared to women.
CONCLUSIONS: These estimates form a valuable indicator of general health by ethnicity in England, enabling policymakers and researchers to explore health inequalities between ethnic groups, for example through DCEA, and design tailored public health strategies in response.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
EE297
Topic
Economic Evaluation, Health Policy & Regulatory
Topic Subcategory
Novel & Social Elements of Value
Disease
No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas