The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care
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This cost-of-illness analysis based on information from 1.549 patients in The Netherlands is part of a Europe-wide study on the costs of multiple sclerosis (MS). The objective was to analyze the costs and quality of life (QOL) related to the level of disease severity and progression. Patients from three specialized MS centres participated in the survey by answering a mail questionnaire (response rate, 52%). ⋯ The same is true for utility, which decreases from 0.85 to 0.05 as the disease becomes severe. However, the utility loss compared to the age- and gender-matched general population is high at all levels of the disease (0.25 at an EDSS score of 2 to 0.4 at EDSS scores of 5-6), leading to an estimated annual loss of 0.24 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) per patient. Relapses for patients with an EDSS score below 5 are associated with a cost of around euro 2.800 and a utility loss of 0.15 during the quarter in which they occur.
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Multicenter Study
Costs and quality of life of multiple sclerosis in Germany.
This cost-of-illness analysis based on information from 2973 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Germany is part of a Europe-wide study on the costs of MS. The objective was to analyze the costs and quality of life (QOL) related to the level of disease severity. Patients from six centres (office- and hospital-based physicians) and patients enrolled in a database were asked to participate in the survey; 38% answered a mail questionnaire. ⋯ Relapses are associated with a cost of approximately euro 3 000 and a utility loss of 0.1 during the quarter in which they occur. Compared with a similar study performed in 1999, resource consumption, with the exception of drugs, is somewhat lower. This is most likely due to a difference in the severity distribution of the two samples and to changes in health-care consumption overall in the country, such as the introduction of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs, Fallpauschalen).
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Multicenter Study
Costs and quality of life of multiple sclerosis in Austria.
This cost-of-illness analysis is part of a Europe-wide study on the costs of multiple sclerosis (MS) and is based on information from patients in Austria. The objective was to estimate the costs and quality of life (QOL) related to the level of disease severity and progression. Questionnaires were sent to 2995 patients registered with a nationwide patient organization. ⋯ Young patients with an EDSS score of approximately 2 have a utility that is 0.15 lower than matched individuals from the general population. This loss increases to approximately 0.4 for patients over 60 years of age with an average EDSS score of 6.0-6.5. Patients with a recent relapse had lower utility (-0.1) and higher costs (+ euro 4.750).
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This cost-of-illness analysis for Belgium is part of a Europe-wide study on the costs of multiple sclerosis (MS). The objective was to analyze the costs and quality of life (QOL) related to the level of disease severity. Patients from four specialized MS centres participated in the survey by answering a mail questionnaire. ⋯ However, the utility loss compared to the general population is high at all levels of the disease (0.25 at an EDSS score of 2 to 0.44 at an EDSS score 5-6 leading to an estimated loss of 0.3 quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) per patient. Relapses for patients with an EDSS score < 5 are associated with a cost of approximately euro 3.360 and a utility loss of 0.1 during the quarter in which they occur. Public payers (health-care costs, community care, sick payments and invalidity pensions) cover an estimated 55% of all costs.
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This cost-of-illness analysis, based on information from 1101 patients in Switzerland, is part of a Europe-wide cost-of-illness study in multiple sclerosis (MS). The objective was to analyze the costs and quality of life (QOL) related to the level of disease severity and progression. Patients registered with the Swiss MS patient organization were asked to participate in a mail survey and 44% responded. ⋯ Health-care costs are to a large extent covered by insurance, and a substantial amount of services such as home care and home help are available to patients with severe disease. These services represent approximately 15% of total societal costs and are largely covered, resulting in almost 30% of total costs to different payers. Despite this, a large amount of costs falls on families providing care, in particular for patients with severe disease.