Impact of Chronic Conditions Varies Significantly Across Europe

NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Patients with chronic diseases in Europe experience losses in quality of life that vary significantly by country, according to new findings from Kantar Health's National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS). The research will be presented today at the ISPOR (International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research) 19th Annual European Congress in Vienna.

"European countries vary considerably in both lifestyle and healthcare delivery systems," said Jeffrey Vietri, Ph.D., Director of Health Outcomes Research at Kantar Health. "While we expect patients with chronic conditions to have lower quality of life than people without those conditions, we were surprised by how much the country in which a patient lives affects the degree of impact a condition has on patients' quality of life."

Measuring health-related quality of life with the visual analog scale from the EQ-5D-5L validated scale in the NHWS, Kantar Health looked at the impact of having a chronic condition on patients in the 5EU countries. Conditions were selected from those listed as having a high burden according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, osteoarthritis and diabetes.

The results from NHWS showed that patients with heart disease in Germany lost significantly more quality of life than heart disease patients in France, Italy and Spain. Meanwhile, cancer was associated with significantly less change in the quality of life of adults in the UK than adults in France, Germany and Italy. Obesity has much less of an effect on quality of life for patients in Italy and Spain than it does on patients in France, Germany and the UK.

"There's a tendency for the pharma industry and policymakers to use one European country as an analogue for patients in other countries in the region," Dr. Vietri said. "However, the results of our survey suggest that manufacturers and policymakers who want to optimize the allocation of healthcare resources should rely on country-level rather than pan-European studies to determine disease burden and ultimately improve patients' quality of life."

About the National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS)
The study's results were drawn from the 2016 NHWS, a nationally representative, self-administered survey conducted annually. Respondents were provided with a list of conditions and asked which they had experienced and been diagnosed with. Topics covered include the health status, attitudes, behaviors and outcomes among adults 18 or older.

Kantar Health conducts the NHWS in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. The survey is the largest self-reported dataset in the healthcare industry.

About Kantar Health
Kantar Health is a leading global healthcare consulting firm and trusted advisor to many pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device and diagnostic companies worldwide. It combines evidence-based research capabilities with deep scientific, therapeutic and clinical knowledge, commercial development know-how, and brand and marketing expertise to help clients evaluate opportunities, launch products and maintain brand and market leadership.

Kantar Health deeply understands the influence of patients, payers and physicians, especially as they relate to the performance and payment of medicines and the delivery of healthcare services. Its 600+ healthcare industry specialists work across the product lifecycle, from preclinical development to launch, acting as catalysts to successful decision-making in life sciences and helping clients prioritize their product development and portfolio activities, differentiate their brands and drive product success post-launch. Kantar Health is part of Kantar, the data investment management division of WPP. For more information, please visit www.kantarhealth.com.