title: The mission is remission: health economic consequences of achieving full remission with antidepressant treatment for depression.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to determine the magnitude of the impact of treating depression to full remission on cost and health-related quality of life. In a naturalistic longitudinal survey recordings of resource use and quality of life were carried out among depressed patients treated with antidepressant therapy in 56 Swedish primary care clinics. We found that a total of 52% of the patients achieved full remission during the study period. Remitting patients had, on average, three outpatient visits less than non-remitting patients (p < 0.01), 22 fewer sick leave days (p = 0.01), which translated into a significantly lower total cost (Euro 2700) compared with non-remitting patients (p < 0.01). Health-related quality-of-life scores improved by 40% for remitting patients when compared with non-remitting ones (p < 0.01). We conclude that remission has a substantial health economic impact on patients treated for depression, which further strengthens the importance of aiming for full remission in the treatment of depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Medical Management Centre, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. patrik.s@healtheconomics.se
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sobocki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ekman
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Agren
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Runeson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jönsson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012074:Remission Induction; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents