Cost-of-illness changes before and after the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus: a nationwide, population-based observational study in Korea
Hyoungyoung Kim, Eun Jin Jang, Soo-Kyung Cho, Jung-Yong Han, Yena Jeon, Sun-Young Jung, Yoon-Kyoung Sung- Pharmacology (medical)
- Rheumatology
Abstract
Objectives
To estimate the direct healthcare cost progression from before to after systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) diagnosis and to compare healthcare costs by disease severity
Methods
Patients with incident SLE diagnosed between 2008 and 2018 were identified from the Korean National Health Insurance database. Annual direct healthcare costs for 5 years before and after SLE were estimated and compared with those of age-, sex-, and calendar month-matched (1:4) controls, without SLE. Direct healthcare costs were compared by disease severity of SLE using regression analysis.
Results
Among 11 173 patients with SLE and 45 500 subjects without SLE, annual direct healthcare costs per person increased in the year before SLE diagnosis and peaked in the first year after diagnosis. They were 7.7-fold greater in the SLE patients than in the subjects without SLE ($5,871 vs $759). Severe SLE was associated with 3.284-fold (95% CI 3.075–3.507) higher annual costs than mild SLE during the year after diagnosis. Older age (age 60–79 years), lupus nephritis, interstitial lung diseases, and comorbidities such as avascular necrosis and chronic kidney disease were associated with higher annual direct healthcare costs (times [95% CI]) in the first year after diagnosis; aged 60–69, 1.119 [1.034–1.211], aged 70–79, 1.470 [1.342–1.611], 1.794 [1.711–1.881], 1.435 [1.258–1.638], 6.208 [4.541–8.487], and 1.858 [1.673–2.064], respectively.
Conclusion
Patients with SLE incurred significantly high direct healthcare costs than subjects without SLE during the first year after diagnosis. Disease severity, older age, major organ involvements and comorbidities were associated with increased healthcare costs.