Quality of life in the economic evaluation of osteoporosis prevention and treatment.

Osteoporosis is associated with fractures that result in morbidity and mortality and a large expenditure of health care resources. Given the large number of people at risk for the development of osteoporosis and the limited health care resources, it is imperative that clinically and economically favorable approaches to osteoporosis prevention and treatment be identified and implemented. The quantitative method of cost-effectiveness evaluation is one method of identifying favorable interventions. The importance of quality of life and the concept of quality-adjusted life years as an end point for assessing the effectiveness of interventions in osteoporosis is highlighted. The quality of life data critically needed to evaluate the impact of interventions in osteoporosis on quality-adjusted life years are discussed.