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Financial Strain Rated Biggest Hit to Carer Quality of Life

MHD card showing a dusk window with a balance beam tipping toward a large glowing money block beside smaller health, loneliness and support blocks, and a carer's hands around a warm cup, illustrating an Australian survey that rated financial strain the biggest hit to carer quality of life.

Financial burden was the carer problem that most lowered quality of life when 771 Australian adults weighed caregiving situations against years of life. Their choices built the first scoring system for COCOON, a new quality-of-life measure for people caring for someone with dementia.1 Research Highlights Money strain counted most: “always” feeling a financial burden took …

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PReDicT Antidepressant Algorithm Cost-Effectiveness Was Uncertain

MHD featured image for PReDicT antidepressant algorithm cost-effectiveness.

A 913-person economic evaluation of the PReDicT antidepressant algorithm found nearly identical EQ-5D quality-of-life gains vs. treatment as usual (+0.139 vs. +0.140) and nearly identical societal cost reductions (−€2,589 vs. −€2,602), while cost-effectiveness probabilities were only 46% to 59% at trial level but exceeded 80% in the UK.1 The algorithm signal was country-specific and capability-weighted, …

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Acupuncture for Menopause Depression: Korean Cohort Found No QALY Gain

MHD featured image for acupuncture and cost-utility in menopause depression care.

A 2026 Korean claims analysis of 32,941 women with menopausal disorders found that traditional Korean medicine without recorded acupuncture claims had the lowest 3-year cost and the highest mean quality-adjusted life-year estimate, while acupuncture-inclusive or Western-medicine-inclusive strategies cost more and produced slightly lower QALYs. Research Highlights Lowest-cost group also had the highest QALYs: traditional Korean …

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Esketamine Failed Cost-Effectiveness vs. Cheaper TRD Options at $50K/QALY

Photoreal illustration of a depression-treatment decision with cost and outcome imagery, conveying healthcare-economic decision-making.

Intranasal esketamine — FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression in 2019 — failed cost-effectiveness benchmarks against four cheaper third-line options in a 2026 Hong Kong modeling study, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) of US$134,127 to US$312,750 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) at a US$50,000/QALY willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold.1 Combination antidepressant therapy was the most cost-effective strategy modeled. Research Highlights …

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