• Howard G Birnbaum, Rym Ben-Hamadi, David Kelley, Matthew Hsieh, Brian Seal, Evan Kantor, Pierre Y Cremieux, and Paul E Greenberg.
• Analysis Group, Inc, 111Huntington Avenue 10th floor, Boston, MA 02199, USA. hbirnbaum@analysisgroup.com
• J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2010 Feb 1;52(2):115-24.

ObjectiveTo assess effects of antidepressant treatment compliance on health care and workplace costs.MethodsBy using workplace survey data linked to two employers' health care claims, employees with depression/antidepressant claims were categorized into noncompliant/compliant groups. Annualized costs were compared between compliance groups, for the employees with antidepressant use and a subset diagnosed with depression.ResultsAmong antidepressant users (N = 1224), medical costs were not statistically different for compliant versus noncompliant patients; drug costs were higher for compliant patients, primarily because of antidepressants' costs. Similar associations were observed among depressed patients (N = 488). Absenteeism costs were lower for compliant patients with antidepressant use ($3857 vs $4,907, P = 0.041) and among depressed patients ($3976 vs $5899, P = 0.047). Presenteeism costs were higher for depressed compliant patients ($19,170 vs $15,829, P = 0.011).ConclusionsIncreased compliance with antidepressants is significantly associated with reduced absenteeism costs.

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