Pneumococcal Disease Significantly Reduces Health-Related Quality of Life

Pneumococcal disease is found to exhibit significantly poor outcomes regarding health-related quality of Life (HRQoL) among patients of all ages, according to the authors of a study published in PharmacoEconomics Open.¹ With meningitis, inpatient pneumonia, and bacteremia/sepsis demonstrating the most meaningful impacts, pneumococcal disease’s impact on HRQoL remains a significantly understudied phenomenon across economic analyses of pneumococcal vaccines.

“Pneumococcal disease has a substantial negative impact on HRQoL in children and adults. The extent of impairment varies widely across pneumococcal disease categories, with the greatest impairment observed in meningitis, bacteremia/sepsis, and inpatient pneumonia,” wrote the authors of a previous study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.² “Studies incorporating more recent data and using standard methods are needed to accurately estimate the impact of pneumococcal disease on HRQoL and inform cost-effectiveness analyses of vaccines that prevent pneumococcal disease.”

The burden of pneumococcal disease is quantified through quality-adjusted life year (QALY) decrements, representing the loss of perfect health per episode. In children, the pooled QALY decrement estimates are highest for meningitis at 0.023, while adults face a similarly steep decrement of 0.027.¹

READ MORE: FAQ: How a Variety of Pneumococcal Vaccines Protect Patient Populations

Burden Among Patients with Pneumococcal Disease

Beyond the acute phase, post-meningitis sequelae (PMS) such as hearing loss and neurological deficits create long-term health utility reductions. For example, children suffering from neurological deficits after a meningitis episode report a health state utility value of only 0.485, far below the standard for full health. Adults also experience significant long-term impairment, with neurological sequelae leading to utility values as low as 0.556.

Recovery from pneumococcal pneumonia is equally taxing for patients’ well-being. A prospective study in France revealed that it takes approximately 6 months for the quality of life to stabilize following a hospital discharge for community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia, according to Health and Quality of Life Outcomes.³

Alarmingly, about 34% of these patients experienced no improvement or even a deterioration in their health a full year after their initial hospitalization. Factors such as advanced age, active smoking, and a previous history of pneumonia were significant negative predictors of recovery. For elderly patients over 85 years, health gains were often non-existent following the initial episode.

According to Value in Health Regional Issues, the pediatric burden is further illuminated by research in Indonesia, where children hospitalized for pneumonia showed an average utility score of 0.67, which dropped to 0.51 for those with comorbid congenital diseases.

Parents reported that pain, discomfort, and anxiety were the most prevalent dimensions of health affected during these childhood illnesses. Global insights confirm that pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of morbidity that extends well beyond mere mortality figures.^1,4

The Pharmacist’s Role in Promoting Vaccination

“The landscape for pneumonia vaccines is complicated, and it’s challenging. The recommendations are convoluted,” Steve Leonard, PharmD, BCIDP, a professor of pharmacy practice at Ohio Northern University, told Drug Topics®. “When you’re giving a flu or a COVID vaccine, that’s the perfect opportunity to ask somebody, ‘Hey, have you had a pneumonia vaccine?’—probably what they know of it as.”

For pharmacists, these findings highlight a critical opportunity for clinical intervention. The IP-VAC study demonstrated that pharmacists are exceptionally positioned to identify at-risk patients and promote vaccination, as stated in Infectious Diseases Now.⁵

By implementing a pharmaceutical consultation and reminding medical teams of vaccination guidelines, clinical pharmacists increased the rate of complete pneumococcal vaccination protocols from a baseline of 2.3% to over 63%. Pharmacists ensure that patients receive both the 13-valent conjugate and the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccines required for comprehensive protection.

Economic models reviewed by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) further suggest that age-based vaccination at 50 could be a valuable strategy to prevent these HRQoL losses. As pharmacists continue to advocate for vaccines like PCV15, PCV20, and PCV21, they play a vital role in reducing the incidence and severity of a disease that clearly devastates quality of life.^5,6

“Pneumococcal disease negatively impacts HRQoL in both children and adults, with the greatest impact observed with meningitis, bacteremia/sepsis, and inpatient pneumonia,” concluded the authors of the current study.¹ “These data can inform future economic evaluations of pneumococcal vaccines in children and adults, improving consistency and reliability of cost-effectiveness analyses of these products.”

READ MORE: Pneumococcal Resource Center

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REFERENCES

1. Huang, M., Romdhani, H., Song, Y. et al. Health utilities associated with pneumococcal diseases in children and adults: a targeted literature review and meta-analysis. PharmacoEconomics Open (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41669-026-00644-z

2. Huang M, Romdhani H, Xie J, et al. Health-related quality of life associated with pneumococcal disease – a global targeted literature review and meta-analysis. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2025;12(Supplement 1):654. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofae631.851

3. Andrade LF, Saba G, Ricard JD, et al. Health related quality of life in patients with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia in France. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2018 Feb 2;16(1):28. doi: 10.1186/s12955-018-0854-6

4. Hadning I, Andayani TM, Endarti D, et al. Health-related quality of life among children with pneumonia in Indonesia using the EuroQoL descriptive system value set for Indonesia. Value Health Reg Issues. 2021;24:12-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vhri.2020.05.010

5. Chiappin M, Leguelinel-Blache G, Roux-Marson c, et al. Impact of a clinical pharmacist’s intervention on pneumococcal vaccination in a population of at-risk hospitalized patients: the IP-VAC study. Infect Dis Now. 2023;53(8):104765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idnow.2023.104765

6. Summary of three economic analyses on the use of PCVs among 50-64 year old adults in the United States. CDC. October 23, 2024. Accessed May 12, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/acip/downloads/slides-2024-10-23-24/03-Leidner-Pneumococcal-508.pdf