NASH, especially advanced NASH, is associated with high lifetime economic burden. In the absence of treatment, the total direct costs of illness for these patients will continue to grow. These costs would be even greater if the societal costs are included. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and is strongly associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients with both T2DM and NASH have increased risk for adverse clinical outcomes, leading to higher risk for mortality and morbidity. We built a Markov model with 1-year cycles and 20-year horizon to estimate the economic burden of NASH with T2DM in the U.S. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Cohort size was determined by population size, prevalence of T2DM, and prevalence and incidence of NASH in 2017. The model includes 10 health statesdNAFL, NASH fibrosis stages F0 through F3, compensated and decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, 1 year post-liver transplant, and post-liver transplantdas well as liver-related, cardiovascular, and background mortality. Transition probabilities were calculated from meta-analyses and literature. Annual costs for NASH and T2DM were taken from literature and billing codes. RESULTS We estimated that there were 18.2 million people in the U.S. living with T2DM and NAFLD, of which 6.4 million had NASH. Twenty-year costs for NAFLD in these patients were $55.8 billion. Over the next 20 years, NASH with T2DM will account for 65,000 transplants, 1.37 million cardiovascular-related deaths, and 812,000 liver-related deaths. CONCLUSIONS This model predicts significant clinical and economic burden due to NASH with T2DM over the next 20 years. In fact, this burden may be greater since we assumed conservative inputs for our model and did not increase costs or the incidence of T2DM over time. It is highly likely that interventions reducing morbidity and mortality in NASH patients with T2DM could potentially reduce this projected clinical and economic burden. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by hepatic steatosis (.5%) in the absence of excessive alcohol consumption or other causes of fatty liver disease and chronic liver disease (1). NAFLD ranges from simple steatosis (NAFL), which has a low likelihood of progression to advanced liver disease, to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which has greater potential for progression. NAFLD is recognized as one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease in the U.S. and worldwide (1-3). NAFLD is

Aim Non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the progressive form of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and prevalence is rising in Asia due to increasing rates of urbanization, sedentary lifestyles, and poor nutrition. Methods We built a Markov model with 20‐year horizon to estimate the burden of NASH in Hong Kong. Cohort size was determined by population size, prevalence of NAFLD, and incidence of NASH in 2017. Health states include hepatic steatosis, fibrosis stages 0–3, compensated and decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, post‐liver transplant, and liver‐related, cardiovascular, and background mortality. Transition probabilities were estimated from published reports and we converted 2017 Gazette price from the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong to US dollars. We discounted costs by 3% annually. Health utilities were assumed to be the same as in the USA. Results Non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis will cost $1.32 billion and 124 liver transplants over 20 years, with average cost per person‐year of $257. Sensitivity analyses show our model is robust in predicting costs for the prevalent population but likely overestimates costs for the incident population. Conclusions Non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis will contribute to a significant clinical and economic burden in Hong Kong over the next two decades. Due to the limited number of donors and small number of liver transplants undertaken annually, patients with advanced liver disease due to NASH in Hong Kong are more likely to die from NASH than their counterparts in North America and Europe. Thus, rising prevalence of metabolic syndrome in elderly adults in Hong Kong make NASH an important consideration for clinicians and policy makers.

SETTING: Fifty-five public clinics in northern South Africa. OBJECTIVE: To estimate patient costs and identify the factors associated with catastrophic costs among individuals treated for tuberculosis (TB). DESIGN: We performed cross-sectional interviews of consecutive patients at public clinics from October 2017 to January 2018. ‘Catastrophic costs’ were defined as costs totalling ≥20% of annual household income. For participants with no reported income, we considered scenarios where costs were considered non-catastrophic if 1) costs totaled

SETTING: Fifty-six public clinics in Limpopo Province, South Africa.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between tuberculosis (TB) patient costs and poverty as measured by a multidimensional poverty index.DESIGN: We performed cross-sectional interviews of consecutive patients with TB. TB episode costs were estimated from self-reported income, travel costs, and care-seeking time. Poverty was assessed using the South African Multidimensional Poverty Index (SAMPI) deprivation score (a 12-item household-level index), with higher scores indicating greater poverty. We used multivariable linear regression to adjust for age, sex, human immunodeficiency virus status and travel time.RESULTS: Among 323 participants, 108 (33%) were ‘deprived' (deprivation score >0.33). For each 0.1-unit increase in deprivation score, absolute TB episode costs were 1.11 times greater (95%CI 0.97–1.26). TB episode costs were 1.19 times greater with each quintile of higher deprivation score (95%CI 1.00–1.40), but lower by a factor of 0.54 with each quintile of lower self-reported income (higher poverty, 95%CI 0.46–0.62).CONCLUSION: Individuals experiencing multidimensional poverty and the cost of tuberculosis illness in Limpopo, South Africa faced equal or higher costs of TB than non-impoverished patients. Individuals with lower self-reported income experienced higher costs as a proportion of household income but lower absolute costs. Targeted interventions are needed to reduce the economic burden of TB on patients with multidimensional poverty.