FROM JAMA DERMATOLOGY
The total economic burden of psoriasis in the United States is at least $112 billion per year, and possibly as high as $135 billion, investigators estimated in a study published Jan. 7 in JAMA Dermatology.
Dr. Elizabeth A. Brezinski of the University of California, Davis, in Sacramento, and her associates, reviewed 22 studies conducted between Jan. 1, 2008, and Sept. 20, 2013, adjusting the results to 2013 dollars.
Estimates for the direct medical cost of psoriasis care ranged from $51.7 billion to $63.2 billion per year. Indirect costs from absenteeism or working while sick contributed another $23.9-$35.4 billion, with comorbidity costs estimated at $36.4 billion annually (JAMA Dermatol. 2014 Jan. 7 [doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2014.3593]).
Intangible costs on quality of life, which were not included in the annual figures, were estimated to be $85.1 billion over the lifetimes of the psoriasis patient population (7.4 million as of 2013), they said.
“Defining the economic burden of psoriasis from a societal perspective is the foundation for innovating and providing access to cost-effective therapies that will result in improved patient outcomes,” Dr. Brezinski and her coauthors wrote.
One of the researchers reported serving as an investigator for, or consultant to, AbbVie, Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, and UCB. No other disclosures were reported.
