Low Back Pain in Australian Adults: The Economic Burden

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a "cost-of-illness" study of low back pain (LBP) in Australian adults. It estimates the direct cost of LBP in 2001 to be AU dollars 1.02 billion. Approximately 71% of this amount is for treatment by chiropractors, general practitioners, massage therapists, physiotherapists and acupuncturists. However, the direct costs are minor compared to the indirect costs of AU dollars 8.15 billion giving a total cost of AU dollars 9.17 billion. LBP in Australian adults represents a massive health problem with a significant economic burden. This burden is so great that it has compelling and urgent ramifications for health policy, planning and research. This study identifies that research should concentrate on both direct but particularly the indirect costs including cost-effective management regimes that encourage an early return to duties.

Early retirement and the financial assets of individuals with back problems

“…It has been estimated that back problems usually affect between 15 and 30% of a population at any one time, with Australia falling within these estimates [6]. Back problems are the most expensive of any musculoskeletal condition in Australia, costing an estimated $1.02 billion in 2002 (around 561 million EUR) [7], an occurrence that is also reflected internationally [5]. Both the incidence and cost of back problems are higher for older workers.…”

“…Numerous reports have indicated that the indirect costs of back pain are much larger than the direct medical and compensation costs [7,9]. Most of the studies undertaken in Australia and Europe have attributed most of these indirect costs to the work absenteeism caused by back problems [1,5,7,[9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

“…Most of the studies undertaken in Australia and Europe have attributed most of these indirect costs to the work absenteeism caused by back problems [1,5,7,[9][10][11][12][13][14]. Extreme back pain can lead to early retirement, and 41.4% of Australians aged 45-64 years who identify back pain as their main health problem are not in the workforce [15].…”

Erratum to: Prevalence of sleep disturbance in patients with low back pain

“…The economic burden of LBP is significant. For example, in the USA health-care expenditure for LBP is more than $90 billion/year [4], in the UK it is $17 billion/year [5] and in Australia $1 billion/year [6]. Most of the costs of LBP are associated with persistent or chronic LBP, i.e.…”

“…Most of the costs of LBP are associated with persistent or chronic LBP, i.e. LBP which lasts for more than 3 months [6]. There are several important consequences of LBP including work loss [7], disability and depression [8].…”