Developing a utility value set for the Alcohol Quality of Life Scale–Brief (AQoLS-Brief) using a discrete choice experiment

The Alcohol Quality of Life Scale-Brief (AQoLS-Brief) is a patient-reported outcome measure developed with input from individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). This study aimed to develop a utility set for the AQoLS-Brief based on general population preferences to support cost-utility analyses. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with duration in a probabilistic sample of French adults (n = 704). Participants chose between paired comparisons of health states described by seven AQoLS-Brief dimensions of varying survival durations. Conditional logit models with interactions between attribute levels and time were used to estimate utility decrements. These anchored coefficients were used to compute quality-adjusted life years (QALY) weights for all 16,384 possible AQoLS-Brief health states. Respondents reported that the tasks were understandable, realistic, and that all attributes were considered. Utility weights ranged from 1 for full health state to − 1.1 for worst state; 23.9% of states were valued as worse than dead. The two items most heavily weighing down the utility set were “Missing out on family life” (–0.59) and “Financial difficulties” (–0.45), highlighting the central role of social and economic functioning in the perceived burden of AUD. Substantial decrements were also observed for “Feeling of wasting my life” and “Life revolving around alcohol.” This study provides a QALY-anchored value set for the AQoLS-Brief, enabling its use in cost-utility analyses. The findings underscore the importance of social, emotional, and financial domains in AUD-related quality of life. Further cross-cultural validation and responsiveness testing in clinical settings are needed.