title: Total costs and predictors of costs in individuals with early inflammatory polyarthritis: a community-based prospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the health service, non-health service and total costs and predictors of costs in individuals with early inflammatory polyarthritis (IP).
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a prospective longitudinal study over a 6-month period. The participants were a random sample of 133 individuals who had enrolled with the community-based Norfolk Arthritis Register (NOAR) database between 1994 and 1999. The main outcome measures were the mean (per person) 6-month health service cost, non-health-service cost and total cost associated with IP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and fifteen of the 133 individuals who were recruited into the study completed 6 months of follow-up. The mean 6-month total cost was estimated to be 2800 pounds sterling per person, of which 14% was health service costs and the remainder non-health-service costs. Higher total costs were associated with lower health status and rheumatoid factor positivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Early IP has a considerable impact on both the health-care system and, more importantly, society. Non-health-service costs (i.e. costs incurred by the individual with the disease, their family and friends) account for a substantial proportion (86%) of the total costs associated with early IP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mugford
authors.forename: D P M
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Symmons
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: D G I
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001168:Arthritis / Q000191:economics*; D003153:Community Health Services; D017281:Cost of Illness; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation; D006113:United Kingdom