Economic Evaluation of a National Vitamin D Supplementation Program Among Iranian Adolescents for the Prevention of Adulthood Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Publisher Pubmed



Zandieh N¹ ; Hemami MR² ; Darvishi A³ ; Hasheminejad SM⁴ ; Abdollahi Z⁵ ; Zarei M⁵ ; Heshmat R⁶
Source: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Published:2022

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation in preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among Iranian adolescents. Methods: This analytical observational study was conducted, using the decision tree model constructed in TreeAge Pro to assess the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) of monthly intake vitamin D supplements to prevent T2DM compared to no intervention from the viewpoint of Iran’s Ministry of Health and through an one-year horizon. In the national program of vitamin D supplementation, 1,185,211 Iranian high-school students received 50,000 IU vitamin D supplements monthly for nine months. The costs-related data were modified to 2018. The average cost and effectiveness were compared based on the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER). Results: Our analytical analysis estimated the 4071.25 (USD / QALY) cost per AQALY gained of the monthly intake of 50,000 IU vitamin D for nine months among adolescents over a one-year horizon. Based on the ICER threshold of 1032–2666, vitamin D supplementation was cost-effective for adolescents to prevent adulthood T2DM. It means that vitamin D supplementation costs were substantially less than the costs of T2DM treatments than the no intervention. Conclusions: Based on the findings, the national vitamin D supplementation program for Iranian adolescents could be a cost-effective strategy to reduce the risk of diabetes in adulthood. From an economic perspective, vitamin D supplementation, especially in adolescents with vitamin D deficiency, would be administrated. © 2021, The Author(s).