Health State Utility Impact of Breast Cancer in U.S. Women Aged 18–44 Years

Introduction Breast cancer affects women’s health-related quality of life negatively, but little is known about how breast cancer affects this in younger women aged 18–44 years. This study measures preference-based health state utility (HSU) values, a scaled index of health-related quality of life for economic evaluation, for younger women with breast cancer and compares these values with same-age women with other cancers and older women (aged ≥45 years) with breast cancer. Methods Data from the 2009 and 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were analyzed in 2014. The sample included 218,852 women; 7,433 and 18,577 had histories of breast and other cancers. HSU values were estimated using Healthy Days survey questions and a published mapping algorithm. Linear regression models for HSU were estimated by age group (18–44 and ≥45 years). Results The adjusted breast cancer HSU impact was four times larger for younger women than for older women (–0.097 vs –0.024, p