Usefulness of integrated vs separated benefit/risk information on food safety with quality-adjusted life year indicators for consumers: a randomised control study

Purpose This study evaluated the usefulness of benefit/risk information on health effects of fatty fish intake. Method We utilised integrated or separated descriptions about the efficacy/safety information of fatty fish consumption with a quality-adjusted life year (QALY) composite index. A randomised controlled study was conducted on 7–8 July 2021, among 1500 Japanese consumers over age 20. Format A was integrated while Format B was separated; the former highlighted the additive value of the number of QALY gains or losses and the latter highlighted no such additive value. Our main outcome was the usefulness of QALY for understanding health messages on a scale from 1 (lower) to 6 (higher). The secondary outcome was the factors of no-risk acceptance according to fish intake after the presentation of benefit–risk information concerning fish intake. Results There were no significant differences between the integrated (4.68, 4.49, and 4.69) and separated (4.61, 4.59, and 4.66) formats for each group in positive ( p = .516), negative ( p = .334), and zero ( p = .820) net health effects, respectively, even after stratification by background of the target sample and between ‘risk acceptance level’ and message type format (integrated or separated) among the three groups. Conclusion Almost all patterns of information types indicated a higher score in the usefulness of QALY without any effect to risk acceptance on receiving the benefit/risk message about food. Therefore, QALYs in any format may be useful for consumers to understand the benefit/risk information based on a benefit/risk assessment of food intake conducted by any regulatory expert. This promotes informed decision-making based on effective risk communication.