The Cost-Effectiveness of School-Based Eating Disorder Screening

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the value of school-based eating disorder (ED) screening for a hypothetical cohort of US public school students. METHODS: We used a decision-analytic microsimulation model to model the effectiveness (life-years with ED and quality-adjusted life-years [QALYs]), total direct costs, and cost-effectiveness (cost per QALY gained) of screening relative to current practice. RESULTS: The screening strategy cost $2260 (95% confidence interval [CI] = $1892, $2668) per student and resulted in a per capita gain of 0.25 fewer life-years with ED (95% CI = 0.21, 0.30) and 0.04 QALYs (95% CI = 0.03, 0.05) relative to current practice. The base case cost-effectiveness of the intervention was $9041 per life-year with ED avoided (95% CI = $6617, $12,344) and $56,500 per QALY gained (95% CI = $38,805, $71,250). CONCLUSIONS: At willingness-to-pay thresholds of $50,000 and $100,000 per QALY gained, school-based ED screening is 41% and 100% likely to be cost-effective, respectively. The cost-effectiveness of ED screening is comparable to many other accepted pediatric health interventions, including hypertension screening.