title: Assessing medical expenditures on 4 smoking-related diseases, 1996-2001.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the current-period cost of treating 4 major smoking-related diseases: lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses are based on the MarketScan database, a medical claims database from large employers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that total expenditures to treat ischemic heart disease were highest, followed by those to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). When median expenditures per claim and disease severity were considered, lung cancer was the most expensive condition to treat and ischemic heart disease the least expensive. Median treatment expenditures increased as the severity of disease increased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Treating smoking-related diseases is costly in the current-period and over a lifetime.
authors: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. JKahende@cdc.gov
authors: Jennifer W
authors: JW
authors: Kahende
authors: Trevor A
authors: TA
authors: Woollery
authors: Chung-won
authors: CW
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D017281:Cost of Illness; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000191:economics; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007345:Insurance Claim Review; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D015995:Prevalence; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology