Objective
We examined the cost-effectiveness of smoking cessation treatment for psychiatric inpatients.
Method
Smokers, regardless of intention to quit, were recruited during psychiatric hospitalization and randomized to receive stage-based smoking cessation services or usual aftercare. Smoking cessation services, quality of life, and biochemically-verified abstinence from cigarettes were assessed during 18-months of follow-up. Trial findings were combined with literature on changes in smoking status and the age and gender adjusted effect of smoking on health care cost, mortality, and quality of life in a Markov model of cost-effectiveness during a lifetime horizon.
Results
Among 223 smokers randomized between 2006 and 2008, the mean cost of smoking cessation services was $189 in the experimental treatment group and $37 in the usual care condition (p < 0.001). At the end of follow-up, 18.75% of the experimental group was abstinent from cigarettes, compared to 6.80% abstinence in the usual care group (p <0.05). The model projected that the intervention added $43 in lifetime cost and generated 0.101 additional Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs), an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $428 per QALY. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis found the experimental intervention was cost-effective against the acceptance criteria of $50,000/QALY in 99.0% of the replicates.
Conclusions
A cessation intervention for smokers identified in psychiatric hospitalization did not result in higher mental health care costs in the short-run and was highly cost-effective over the long-term. The stage-based intervention was a feasible and cost-effective way of addressing the high smoking prevalence in persons with serious mental illness.