Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
The European Journal of Health Economics
Published in: The European Journal of Health Economics 2/2008

01-01-2008 | Original paper

The burden of rheumatoid arthritis and access to treatment: health burden and costs

Authors: J. Lundkvist, F. Kastäng, G. Kobelt

Published in: The European Journal of Health Economics | Special Issue 2/2008

Login to get access

Abstract

As part of the study “The burden of rheumatoid arthritis and patient access to treatment”, this paper reviews evidence on the health burden of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in terms of morbidity (DALYs), mortality (% of deaths attributable to RA) and quality of life (utility and loss of QALYs), as well as the economic impact on society. Based on available literature on the prevalence and the cost of RA, combined with economic indicators, the annual cost per patient as well as the total national cost is estimated for Europe and North America (Canada and the United States), as well as Australia, Turkey, the Russian Federation and South Africa. Total costs to society were estimated at €45.3 billion in Europe and at €41.6 billion in the United States. Utility scores were found to be amongst the lowest compared to other diseases.
Literature
1.
Silman, A.: Epidemiology of rheumatic diseases. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1993)
2.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Prevalence of arthritis—US 1997. MMWR 50, 334–336, [CD] (2001)
3.
Guillemin, F., Saraux, A., Guggenbuhl, P., et al.: Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in France: 2001. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 64, 1427–1430 (2005)CrossRef
4.
Alamanos, Y., Voulgari, P.V., Drosos, A.A.: Incidence and prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis, based on the 1987 American College of Rheumatology Criteria: a systematic review. Semin. Arthritis Rheum. 36, 182–188 (2006)CrossRef
5.
Andrianakos, A., Trontzas, P., Christoyannis, F., et al.: Prevalence of rheumatic diseases in Greece: a cross-sectional population-based epidemiological study. The ESORDIG Study. J. Rheumatol. 30, 1589–1601 (2003)
6.
Carmona, L., Villaverde, V., Hernandez-Garcia, C., et al.: The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in the general population of Spain. Rheumatology (Oxford) 41(1), 88–95 (2002)CrossRef
7.
Cimmino, M.A., Parisi, M., Moggiana, G., et al.: Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Italy: the Chiavari Study. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 57, 315–318 (1998)
8.
Drosos, A.A., Alamanos, I., Voulgari, P.V., et al.: Epidemiology of adult rheumatoid arthritis in northwest Greece 1987–1995. J. Rheumatol. 24, 2129–2133 (1997)
9.
Saraux, A., Guedes, C., Allain, J., et al.: Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathy in Brittany, France. Societe de Rhumatologie de l’Ouest J. Rheumatol. 26, 2622–2627 (1999)
10.
Gabriel, S.E., Crowson, C.S., O’Fallon, W.M.: The epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis in Rochester, Minnesota, 1955–1985. Arthritis Rheum. 42, 415–420 (1999)CrossRef
11.
Hakala, M., Pollanen, R., Nieminen, P.: The ARA 1987 revised criteria select patients with clinical rheumatoid arthritis from a population based cohort of subjects with chronic rheumatic diseases registered for drug reimbursement. J. Rheumatol. 20, 1674–1678 (1993)
12.
Power, D., Codd, M., Ivers, L., et al.: Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Dublin, Ireland: a population based survey. Ir. J. Med. Sci. 168, 197–200 (1999)CrossRef
13.
Riise, T., Jacobsen, B.K., Gran, J.T.: Incidence and prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in the county of Tromsö, northern Norway. J. Rheumatol. 27, 1386–1389 (2000)
14.
Simonsson, M., Bergman, S., Jacobsson, L.T., et al.: The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Sweden. Scand. J. Rheumatol. 28, 340–343 (1999)CrossRef
15.
Symmons, D., Turner, G., Webb, R., et al.: The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in the United Kingdom: new estimates for a new century. Rheumatology (Oxford) 41, 793–800 (2002)CrossRef
16.
Uhlig, T., Kvien, T.K., Glennas, A., et al.: The incidence and severity of rheumatoid arthritis, results from a county register in Oslo, Norway. J, Rheumatol, 25, 1078–1084 (1998)
17.
Rasch, E., Hirsch, R., Paulose-Ram, R., Hochberg, M.: Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in persons 60 years of age and older in the United States: effect of different methods of case classification. Arthritis Rheum. 48, 917–926 (2003)CrossRef
18.
Drosos, A., et al.: Rheumatoid Arthritis in Greek and British patients: a comparative clinical, radiologic, and serologic study. Arthritis Rheum. 35, 745–748 (1992)CrossRef
19.
Antoni, C., Maini, R., Grunke, M., et al.: Cooperative of QoL in Rheumatic disease: results of a survey among 6,000 patients across 11 European countries. Arthritis Rheum 46:ACR (abstract) (2002)
20.
21.
Rupp, I., Boshuizen, H.C., Dinant, H.J., et al.: Disability and health-related quality of life among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: association with radiographic joint damage, disease activity, pain, and depressive symptoms. Scand. J. Rheumatol. 35, 175–181 (2006)CrossRef
22.
Young, A., Wilkinson, P., Talamo, J., et al.: Socioeconomic deprivation and rheumatoid disease. What lessons for the health service? Ann. Rheum. Dis. 59, 794–799 (2000)CrossRef
23.
Kobelt, G., Lindgren, P., Lindroth, Y., Jacobson, L., Eberhardt, K.: Modelling the effect of function and disease activity on costs and quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford) 44, 1169–1175 (2005)CrossRef
24.
Kobelt, G., Richard, B., Peeters, P., Sany, J.: Costs and quality of life of patients with RA in France. ACR 2006, Bone Joint Spine 75(7), (2008)
25.
Currie, C.J., McEwan, P., Peters, J.R., Patel, T.C., Dixon, S.: The routine collation of health outcomes data from hospital-treated subjects in the Health Outcomes Data Repository (HODaR): descriptive analysis from the first 20,000 subjects. Value Health 8, 581–590 (2005)CrossRef
26.
Orme, M., Kerrigan, J., Tyas, D., Russell, N., Nixon, R.: The effect of disease, functional status and relapses ont he utility of people with multiple sclerosis in the UK. Value Health 10, 54–60 (2007)CrossRef
27.
Bloom, B.S., Bruno, D.J., Maman, D.Y., Jayadevappa, R.: Usefulness of US cost-of-illness studies in healthcare decision making. Pharmacoeconomics 19, 207–213 (2001)CrossRef
28.
Koopmanschap, M.A.: Cost-of-illness studies. Useful for health policy? Pharmacoeconomics 14, 143–148 (1998)CrossRef
29.
Cooper, N.J.: Economic burden of rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review. Rheumatology (Oxford) 39, 28–33 (2000)CrossRef
30.
Pugner, K.M., Scott, D.I., Holmes, J.W., Hieke, K.: The costs of rheumatoid arthritis: an international long-term view. Semin. Arthritis Rheum. 29, 305–220 (2000)CrossRef
31.
Rosery, H., Bergemann, R., Maxion-Bergemann, S.: International variation in resource utilisation and treatment costs for rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic literature review. Pharmacoeconomics 23, 243–257 (2005)CrossRef
32.
Huscher, D., Merkesdal, S., Thiele, K., et al.: Cost of illness in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus in Germany. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 65, 1175–1183 (2006)CrossRef
33.
Kirwan, J.R.: Conceptual issues in scoring radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis. J. Rheumatol. 26, 720–725 (1999)
34.
Landewe, R.B., Boers, M., Verhoeven, A.C., et al.: COBRA combination therapy in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis: long-term structural benefits of a brief intervention. Arthritis Rheum. 46, 347–356 (2002)CrossRef
35.
Kobelt, G., Jonsson, L., Lindgren, P., et al.: Modeling the progression of rheumatoid arthritis: a two-country model to estimate costs and consequences of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 46, 2310–2319 (2002)CrossRef
36.
Verstappen, S.M., Verkleij, H., Bijlsma, J.W., et al.: Determinants of direct costs in Dutch rheumatoid arthritis patients. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 63, 817–824 (2004)CrossRef
37.
Hallert, E., Husberg, M., Skogh, T.: Costs and course of disease and function in early rheumatoid arthritis: a 3-year follow-up (the Swedish TIRA project). Rheumatology (Oxford) 45, 325–331 (2006)CrossRef
38.
Michaud, K., Messer, J., Choi, H.K., Wolfe, F.: Direct medical costs and their predictors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a three-year study of 7,527 patients. Arthritis Rheum. 48, 2750–2762 (2003)CrossRef
39.
Kobelt, G., Eberhardt, K., Jonsson, L., Jonsson, B.: Economic consequences of the progression of rheumatoid arthritis in Sweden. Arthritis Rheum. 42, 347–356 (1999)CrossRef
40.
Hulsemann, J.L., Ruof, J., Zeidler, H., Mittendorf, T.: Costs in rheumatology: results and lessons learned from the ‘Hannover Costing Study’. Rheumatol. Int. 26, 704–711 (2006)CrossRef
41.
Lajas, C., Abasolo, L., Bellajdel, B., et al.: Costs and predictors of costs in rheumatoid arthritis: a prevalence-based study. Arthritis Rheum. 49, 64–70 (2003)CrossRef
42.
Albers, J.M., Kuper, H.H., van Riel, P.L., et al.: Socio-economic consequences of rheumatoid arthritis in the first years of the disease. Rheumatology (Oxford) 38, 423–430 (1999)CrossRef
43.
Merkesdal, S., Ruof, J., Schoffski, O., et al.: Indirect medical costs in early rheumatoid arthritis: composition of and changes in indirect costs within the first three years of disease. Arthritis Rheum. 44, 528–534 (2001)CrossRef
44.
Young, A., Dixey, J., Cox, N., et al.: How does functional disability in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affect patients and their lives? Results of 5 years of follow-up in 732 patients from the Early RA Study (ERAS). Rheumatology (Oxford) 39, 603–611 (2000)CrossRef
45.
Fex, E., Larsson, B-M., Nived, K., Eberhardt, K.: Impact of rheumatoid arthritis on work status and social and leisure time activities in patients followed 8 years from onset. J. Rheumatol. 25, 44–50 (1997)
46.
Merkesdal, S., Huelsemann, J.L., Mittendorf, T., et al.: Productivity costs of rhumatoid arthritis in Germany: cost composition and prediction of main cost components (in German). Z. Rheumatol. 65, 527–534 (2006)CrossRef
47.
Chorus, A.M., Miedema, H.S., Wevers, C.J., van Der Linden, S.: Labour force participation among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 59, 549–554 (2000)CrossRef
48.
Young, A., Dixey, J., Kulinskaya, E., et al.: Which patients with early RA stop working? Results from a 5-year inception cohort of 547 patients. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 61, 335–340 (2002)CrossRef
49.
Meenan, R.F., Yelin, E.H., Henke, C.J., et al.: The costs of rheumatoid arthritis. A patient-oriented study of chronic disease costs. Arthritis Rheum. 21, 827–833 (1978)CrossRef
50.
Liang, M.H., Larson, M., Thompson, M., et al.: Costs and outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 27, 522–529 (1984)CrossRef
51.
Lubeck, D.P., Spitz, P.W., Fries, J.F., et al.: A multicenter study of annual health service utilization and costs in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 29, 488–493 (1986)CrossRef
52.
Wolfe, F., Kleinheksel, S.M., Spitz, P.W., et al.: A multicenter study of hospitalization in rheumatoid arthritis. Frequency, medical-surgical admissions, and charges. Arthritis Rheum. 29, 614–619 (1986)CrossRef
53.
Bloom, B.S.: Direct medical costs of disease and gastrointestinal side effects during treatment for arthritis. Am. J. Med. 84, 20–24 (1988)CrossRef
54.
Gabriel, S.E., Crowson, C.S., Campion, M.E., O’Fallon, W.M.: Direct medical costs unique to people with arthritis. J. Rheumatol. 24, 719–725 (1997)
55.
Gabriel, S.E., Crowson, C.S., Campion, M.E., O’Fallon, W.M.: Indirect and nonmedical costs among people with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis compared with nonarthritic controls. J. Rheumatol. 24, 43–48 (1997)
56.
Lanes, S.F., Lanza, L.L., Radensky, P.W., et al.: Resource utilization and cost of care for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis in a managed care setting: the importance of drug and surgery costs. Arthritis Rheum. 40, 1475–1481 (1997)CrossRef
57.
Ward, M.M., Javitz, H.S., Yelin, E.H.: The direct cost of rheumatoid arthritis. Value Health 3, 243–252 (2000)CrossRef
58.
Yelin, E.: The costs of rheumatoid arthritis: absolute, incremental, and marginal estimates. J. Rheumatol. 44 (Suppl), 47–51 (1996)
59.
Yelin, E., Wanke, L.A.: An assessment of the annual and long-term direct costs of rheumatoid arthritis: the impact of poor function and functional decline. Arthritis Rheum. 42, 1209–1218 (1999)CrossRef
60.
Andlin-Sobocki, P., Jonsson, B., Wittchen, H.U., Olesen, J.: Cost of disorders of the brain in Europe. Eur. J. Neurol. 12(Suppl 1), 1–27 (2005)
61.
62.
Eurostat (2006) Economy and finance, Brussels
63.
64.
Kobelt, G., Berg, J., Lindgren, P., Fredrikson, S., Jönsson, B.: Costs and quality of life of multiple sclerosis in Europe. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 77, 918–926 (2006)CrossRef
65.
Wagner, E., Lackerbauer, E., Siegmeth, W.: Direct and indirect costs of rheumatoid arthritis and the socio-emotional effects of this disease—an Austrian study (in German). Wien Med Wochenschr 155, 217–226 (2005)CrossRef
66.
Westhovens, R., Boonen, A., Verbruggen, L., et al.: Healthcare consumption and direct costs of rheumatoid arthritis in Belgium. Clin. Rheumatol. 24, 615–619 (2005)CrossRef
67.
Maetzel, A., Li, L.C., Pencharz, J., et al.: The economic burden associated with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and hypertension: a comparative study. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 63, 395–401 (2004)CrossRef
68.
Sorensen, J.: Health care costs attributable to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Scand. J. Rheumatol. 33, 399–404 (2004)CrossRef
69.
Leardini, G., Salaffi, F., Montanelli, R., et al.: A multicenter cost-of-illness study on rheumatoid arthritis in Italy. Clin. Exp. Rheumatol. 20, 505–515 (2002)
70.
Verstappen, S.M., Jacobs, J.W., van der Heijde, D.M., et al.: Utility and direct costs: ankylosing spondylitis compared with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann. Rheum. Dis. (2006)
71.
Jacobsson, L.T., Lindroth, Y., Marsal, L., Juran, E., Bergstrom, U., Kobelt, G.: Rheumatoid arthritis: what does it cost and what factors are driving those costs? Results of a survey in a community-derived population in Malmo, Sweden. Scand. J. Rheumatol. 36, 179–183 (2007)CrossRef
72.
Kobelt, G., Lindgren, P., Singh, A., Klareskog, L.: Cost effectiveness of etanercept (Enbrel) in combination with methotrexate in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis based on the TEMPO trial. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 64, 1174–1179 (2005)CrossRef
73.
McIntosh, E.: The cost of rheumatoid arthritis. Br. J. Rheumatol. 35, 781–790 (1996)CrossRef
74.
Sobocki, P., Pugliatti, M., Lauer, L., Kobelt, G.: Estimation of the cost of MS in Europe: extrapolations from a multinational cost study. Mult. Scler. 13, 1054–1064 (2007)CrossRef
Metadata
Title
The burden of rheumatoid arthritis and access to treatment: health burden and costs
Authors
J. Lundkvist
F. Kastäng
G. Kobelt
Publication date
01-01-2008
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
The European Journal of Health Economics / Issue Special Issue 2/2008
Print ISSN: 1618-7598
Electronic ISSN: 1618-7601
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-007-0088-8

Other articles of this Special Issue 2/2008

The European Journal of Health Economics 2/2008 Go to the issue

Original paper

The burden of rheumatoid arthritis and access to treatment: outcome and cost-utility of treatments

Original paper

The burden of rheumatoid arthritis and access to treatment: uptake of new therapies

Original paper

The burden of rheumatoid arthritis and access to treatment: a medical overview

Original paper

Patient access to rheumatoid arthritis treatments

Editorial

Patient access to rheumatoid arthritis treatments

Original paper

The burden of rheumatoid arthritis and access to treatment: determinants of access