Screening for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 50 in developed countries. Due to its slow progression and unrecorded subjective symptoms, the cost of treating advanced forms of the disease is high each year. The aim of this study is to perform a cost-utility analysis of the introduction of a screening program for the population over 50 years of age for the early detection of AMD in the Czech Republic. A Markov model was constructed for evaluation in a time horizon of 40 years. The cost-utility analysis was performed at the end of the study and the results are presented in incremental cost-utility ratios (ICUR) using quality-adjusted life years. Uncertainty was assessed using one-way sensitivity analysis. The cumulative cost of the strategy without screening is CZK 7,722,485 and the cumulative cost of the strategy with screening is CZK 2,077,740. The cumulative utility of the non-screening strategy is 14.39 QALYs and the cumulative utility of the screening strategy is 21.46 QALYs. The ICUR is -798,921 CZK/QALY. The results of this study suggest that a screening strategy is cost-effective.