Cost of illness study for adult atopic dermatitis in Japan: A cross‐sectional Web‐based survey

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis is a pruritic, eczematous dermatitis, the symptoms of which chronically fluctuate with remissions and relapses. Although a high psychosomatic and economic burden caused by atopic dermatitis is expected, few studies have been conducted estimating the cost of illness, including the self‐medication costs and productivity loss due to atopic dermatitis. The aim of this study was to conduct a cross‐sectional, Web‐based survey of the direct medical costs, self‐medication costs and productivity loss for adult atopic dermatitis patients, and estimate the burden of Japanese adult atopic dermatitis patients by disease severity. In a physician survey, the medical resource consumption related to medical treatments was surveyed by disease severity. The direct medical costs were calculated by multiplying the medical resource consumption and medical fee corresponding to each treatment. Based on the results of a patient survey, the self‐medication costs and productivity loss were estimated by sex and disease severity. Atopic dermatitis‐related productivity loss was calculated based on absenteeism, presenteeism, overall work impairment for employed workers and activity impairment for housewives. The nationwide estimations were calculated based on the estimated number of atopic dermatitis patients, employed workers with atopic dermatitis, and housewives with atopic dermatitis in their 20s–50s in Japan. Based on the surveys, all costs per patient and the scores increased with disease severity. The cost of illness for adult atopic dermatitis patients in Japan was estimated to be approximately JPY 3 trillion/year. Considering the physical and mental burdens, the burden of illness for adult atopic dermatitis was demonstrated to be vast.

The Economic and Psychosocial Comorbidity Burden Among Adults with Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis in Europe: Analysis of a Cross-Sectional Survey

“…Furthermore, the results across the EU5 for both direct and indirect costs are similar to those reported in The Netherlands [8]. The results of this study are also similar to a cross-sectional study in Japan, which found that cost per adult patient with AD increased with disease severity [24]. These findings reaffirm the impact that AD, particularly moderate-to-severe AD, can have on the healthcare system and overall society.…”

Cost‐of‐illness study for axillary hyperhidrosis in Japan

“…23 Murota et al . 24 recently conducted a WPAI survey on 400 patients with atopic dermatitis in Japan, and noted absenteeism of 2.1–5.5% and presenteeism of 31.4–31.8%, demonstrating similarly declined work performance to that observed in our survey. Furthermore, the annual societal loss associated with productivity loss was ¥2.5 trillion (approximately ¥208.3 billion/month).…”

“…Hamm et al22 examined disease characteristics and func-8% reduction in productivity, with more severe disabilities due to urticaria (33.8%), atopic dermatitis (38.7%), eczema/dermatitis (41.0%), and psoriasis (26.7%) 23. Murota et al24 recently conducted a WPAI survey on 400 patients with atopic dermatitis in Japan, and noted absenteeism of 2.1-5.5% and presenteeism of 31.4-31.8%, demonstrating similarly declined work performance to that observed in our survey. Furthermore, the annual societal loss associated with productivity loss was ¥2.5 trillion (approximately ¥208.3 billion/month).…”

Burden of illness, medication adherence, and unmet medical needs in Japanese patients with atopic dermatitis: A retrospective analysis of a cross‐sectional questionnaire survey

“…We showed that Japanese patients with AD have impaired HRQoL, work productivity, and activity, which supports the findings of previous studies. [16][17][18][19] For example, Arima et al 16 reported that in Japanese patients with AD absenteeism, presenteeism, overall work impairment, and activity impairment were 4.0 ± 12.3%, 28.6 ± 25.3%, 30.6 ± 27.2%, and 32.2 ± 27.9%, respectively. In our study, the respective values were 6.3 ± 19.1%, 27.4 ± 27.8%, 30.4 ± 30.7%, and 31.4 ± 28.8%, indicating that the participants in our study represented typical Japanese patients with AD.…”