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- Beckman, Linda, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Economic Costs of Antidepressant Use: A Population-Based Study in Sweden
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics. - Italy. - 1091-4358 .- 1099-176X. ; 22:4, s. 125-130
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Prescription of antidepressant drugs (ADs) has increased in recent decades, with rising costs for patients as well as for the health care system. There is sparse evidence of which factors explain the high economic costs and financial burden for the general population. Aims of the study: The aim was to assess individual-level determinants of out-of-pocket and total health care costs of AD use in the Swedish general population. Methods: We randomly sampled 400,000 individuals aged 18+ from Statistics Sweden's population register from 2010 to 2013. Two-part regression models were used for our two primary outcome variables: (i) total health care costs for AD use per year and individual, and (ii) total out-of-pocket costs of AD use per year and individual. Results: Women, the unemployed, unmarried people and residents of big cities have both higher use of ADs and higher associated total health care and out-of-pocket costs. Today, ADs are relatively inexpensive and average cost differences among all groups are therefore minor. The elderly have higher use of ADs, but are more commonly low-volume users and do not have higher total health care or out-of-pocket costs. Discussion and limitations: Groups with relatively low socioeconomic status are at risk of higher costs for antidepressant use. However, given the Swedish system of drug subsidies, differences in financial burden for individuals are minor. The limitations of this study included that we lacked data on diagnosis and could therefore not categorize the reasons for AD consumption. Furthermore, our results may not be generalized to other countries with a lower AD prevalence then Sweden's, since our estimates are dependent on the point prevalence of antidepressant use in the population. Implications for health care provision and use: Groups with higher AD consumption and economic costs may suffer from more severe depression owing to more risk factors and less social support in their surroundings, and may be in greater need of additional treatment and support than other groups. Implications for health policies and further research: Our results offer insight at an aggregate level, and more information on the underlying causes of higher costs is needed to discern the policy implications.
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| 2. |
- Ekman, M., et al.
(författare)
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The Societal Cost of Schizophrenia in Sweden
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics. - 1091-4358. ; 16:1, s. 13-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Schizophrenia is a disabling psychiatric disorder that has severe consequences for patients and their families. Moreover, the expensive treatment of schizophrenia imposes a burden on health care providers and the wider society. Existing cost estimates for Sweden, however, are based on relatively small patient populations and need to be confirmed in a large register-based study. Aims of the Study: To investigate the health care resource utilization and cost-of-illness in patients with schizophrenia in Sweden and to relate the costs to hospitalizations and global assessment of functioning (GAF). Methods: Hospital-based registry data were combined with national registry data from a large patient population to get reliable estimates of the costs of schizophrenia in Sweden. Schizophrenia was defined by ICD-10 codes F20; F21; F23.1,2,8,9; F25.1,8,9. Registry data on socio-demographics and disease-related healthcare resource use in outpatient and inpatient care were obtained from Northern Stockholm Psychiatry. Data on pharmaceuticals were obtained from the National Board of Health and Welfare, and data on sick leave and early retirement were obtained from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. Costs for community mental health care were not available at the individual level, but were estimated based on previous studies and aggregate cost data from Stockholm. Resource use data from the registries were combined with unit costs from publicly available sources. The study was conducted from a societal perspective, with indirect costs valued according to the human capital method. Results: The average annual psychiatric cost per patient with schizophrenia in 2008 was 42 700 (95% CI: 41 500 44 000), based on a sample of 2 161 patients. To this should be added costs for community mental health care of 12 400 per patient, giving a total cost of 55 100 per patient. The two largest cost items in the total costs were indirect costs due to lost productivity (60%) and community mental health care (22% of the total cost). Patients who were hospitalized in 2008 had greater psychiatric costs than those who were not, (sic)71 700 vs. (sic)37 700 (p<0.0001). Psychiatric costs were significantly and negatively correlated with GAF (p<0.001). Discussion: The major strengths of the study are the relatively large sample, and the linkage of patient-level clinical data on inpatient and outpatient care with national registry data on prescription pharmaceuticals, and days on social insurance. A limitation was that costs for informal care and primary care were not included in the data, but previous studies suggest that these costs items are small compared to other costs for schizophrenia. Implications for Health Policies and Future Research: Costs were strongly related to hospitalization and GAF, suggesting that attempts to improve global functioning and avoid hospitalizations by means of effective treatment and rehabilitation might not only decrease suffering for patients and relatives, but also reduce the societal cost of schizophrenia. A detailed knowledge of the societal costs can also be helpful in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of new treatment strategies to improve the care for patients with schizophrenia.
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