The health-related, social, and economic consequences of parkinsonism: a controlled national study

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonism (AP) cause a significant socioeconomic burden, but there is insufficient information about the total disease burden at a national level. Thus, the goal of this study was to estimate the excess direct and indirect costs of PD and AP in a national sample. Using records from the Danish National Patient Registry (1997-2007), 13,400 PD and 647 AP patients were identified and compared with, respectively, 53,600 and 2,588 control cases randomly selected with respect to age, gender, civil status, and geographic location. Direct costs including frequencies of primary and sector contacts and procedures, and medication from primary and secondary sectors were obtained from the Danish Ministry of Health, the Danish Medicines Agency, and the National Health Security. Indirect costs, which included labor supply and social transfer payments, were based on income data derived from the Coherent Social Statistics. Patients with PD and AP had significantly higher rates of health-related contact and medication use and a higher socioeconomic cost. Furthermore, they had very low employment rates, and those in employment had a lower income level than employed control subjects. The annual mean excess health-related cost was <euro>6,500 ($8,975/£5,543) and <euro>9,771 ($13,491/£8,332) for each patient with PD and AP, respectively. In addition, the patients with PD and AP received an annual mean excess social transfer income of <euro>324 (£276/$447) and <euro>844 (£719/$1,165), respectively. The employment- and health-related consequences could be identified up to 8 years before the first diagnosis and increased with disease advancement. PD and AP have major socioeconomic consequences for patients and society. The health effects are present for up to more than 8 years before a diagnosis of PD/AP.

Sleep stability and transitions in patients with idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder and patients with Parkinson's disease

“…The disorders have large direct and indirect costs for society (Jennum et al, 2011). PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease.…”

Technical aids and housing adaptations among very old people with self-reported Parkinson&#39;s disease compared to matched controls

“…In the area of environmental resources, we find studies examining economic effects of PD or those having Parkinsonian symptoms. 14,15 More specifically, a recent study 16 showed that people with PD or having Parkinsonian symptoms were using medicine to a higher extent and had more than three times higher medical costs than matched controls. Moreover, they were more likely to receive welfare payments.…”

Health, Social and Economic Consequences of Polyneuropathy: A Controlled National Study Evaluating Societal Effects on Patients and Their Partners

“…Another important aspect of the involvement of spouses is the increased use of health-care services and social factors. This was also observed in other neurological diseases [13,14,15,16]. This observation requires further evaluation but we believe that the neurological deficits and common pattern of risk association is involved in the increased health-care use and social effect to partners.…”

“…3 and 4). Such limitations have been described in other chronic and progressive disorders, such as multiple sclerosis [17], Parkinsonism [18], and narcolepsy [19], although these are associated with long-lasting and pre-diagnostic courses. The pre-diagnostic health effects cannot be attributed to the diagnosis but are probably due to comorbid conditions associated with, or causing, the polyneuropathy.…”

“…The differences between patients with polyneuropathy and control subjects were as considerable as those for patients with chronic neurological diseases [13,14,15,16]. Given the large numbers of people involved and the differential effects by age and gender, the personal, familiar and societal costs are considerable.…”