Assessing healthcare expenditures of older United States adults with pain and poor versus good mental health status: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine if differences exist in healthcare expenditures of older United States (US) adults with pain based on self-reported mental health status, which is important to know given the prevalence of pain and poor mental health in the USA.DesignThis was a cross-sectional study.SettingUS Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) interviews.ParticipantsUS adults aged ≥50 years, with self-reported pain in the past 4 weeks and positive healthcare expenditure in the 2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). The independent variable was poor versus good mental health status.Primary and secondary outcome measuresDescriptive statistics compared demographic characteristics (using chi-square tests) and mean healthcare expenditures (using t-tests) between groups. Adjusted linear regression models with logarithmically-transformed expenditures compared differences in: total; inpatient; outpatient; emergency room; office-based; prescription medications and other expenditures. Analyses accounted for the complex MEPS design and were weighted to produce nationally-representative results. The a priori alpha level was 0.05.ResultsThe weighted population included 57 134 711 older US adults with self-reported pain (14.4% poor mental health, 85.6% good mental health). Compared with individuals with good mental health, individuals with poor mental health had higher unadjusted total expenditures (US$20 231 vs US$13 379, p<0.0001), higher prescription medication expenditures (US$5924 vs US$3610, p<0.0001) and higher other expenditures (US$4833 vs US$2285, p<0.0001). In adjusted multivariable linear regression models, there were no differences in expenditures between those with poor mental health and those with good mental health status.ConclusionsThere were no statistically significant differences in adjusted annual (2018) positive healthcare expenditures among older US adults with pain and poor versus good mental health status.

The impact of increasing expenditure on National Essential Public Health Services on the medical costs of hypertension in China: A difference-in-difference analysis

“…The model allows adjustment for potential confounders (age, sex, marital, work, education, house income, insurance, residence, BMI, health state) to reduce residual confounders [23]. Given that the skewed distribution of outpatient and inpatient expense violated the normal distribution assumption of the regress model, logarithmic transformation was adopted in the analysis [24]. Data analyses were performed using Stata v.16.0 (StataCorp, Texas, USA).…”

Quantifying the Strain: A Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Perspective on Musculoskeletal Disorders in the United States Over Three Decades, 1990 - 2019

“…The burden of disability from MSK conditions is predicted to increase due to increasing population, aging, and work-and behavior-related risk factors such as sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and injury [6]. Despite this large burden of disease and nancial cost, few studies have characterized the epidemiological burden of MSK conditions in the United States, with research mostly limited to burden of speci c conditions [11,[13][14][15][16][17]. The low number of studies on MSK disorders overall may be due to MSK disorders being perceived as rarely fatal and mostly irreversible [6].…”

Relationship between Perceived Pain Interference and Poor Psychological Wellbeing among United States Adults

“…Studies have also reported that addressing poor psychological wellbeing may be a significant approach for pain management due to its complex psychosocial aspects [ 12 ]. Although there is literature on the relationship and healthcare costs of pain and psychological wellbeing in older US adults [ 13 , 14 ], there are limited studies on the relationship among perceived pain interference and psychological wellbeing in US adults regardless of age. The primary objective of this project was to assess the association among perceived pain interference and poor psychological wellbeing in US adults.…”