Abstract
The ASCOT trial is designed to provide important information for treatment of patients with hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia. The economic consequences of alternative therapies, as studied in ASCOT, may be significant, and information about these consequences is important for development of treatment guidelines and for prescription decisions. Therefore a cost-effectiveness analysis based on data from ASCOT is planned. The rationale for and design of this study is described in another paper in this volume.1 This sub-study provides information for an extension of this cost-effectiveness study to include indirect costs and to adjust life years gained for quality of life (utility). Thus cost-effectiveness can be calculated both with and without indirect costs and both as cost per life year gained and cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained.2 This makes it possible to compare the results with similar studies of the cost-effectiveness of treatment of hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia.