Quantifying the Impact of Intervention on Health Outcomes: A Tool for Assessing Incremental Changes to Life Expectancy

Objectives Traditional life tables provide valuable insights into mortality patterns but need to be adapted for quantifying the benefits of medical interventions. This article presents a methodology that modifies life tables using relative risk data to estimate incremental changes in life expectancy. Methods We developed a calculator that applies this approach, allowing users to input risk-factor data with and without intervention to generate adjusted life expectancy estimates. The calculations to modify life-expectancy were based on estimating ‘effective age’, a concept widely used in risk communication studies. Results The calculator provides a structured approach for estimating life expectancy changes that can be used for health economic evaluations. Its user-friendly interface offers policy makers and researchers a framework to explore intervention outcomes. Conclusions By incorporating relative risk data into life tables, this methodology supports a structured but simplified assessment of how medical interventions may influence life expectancy.