Costs of back pain in Germany.
With 12-month prevalence rates of more than 70%, back pain is currently one of the major health problems for German adults and entails major economic consequences. The aim of this study was to estimate back pain-related costs from a societal perspective and to determine the impact of sociodemographic variables on costs. Based on back pain-related survey data of a large German adult sample (9267 respondents, response rate 60%), costs were assessed using a prevalence-based bottom-up approach. Direct costs caused by utilisation of healthcare services, as well as indirect costs due to back pain-related production losses were considered. All prices are expressed in 2005 Euros. Average total back pain costs per patient were estimated to be 1,322 euro (95% CI [1173-1487]) per year. These costs are split between direct (46%) and indirect (54%) costs. Bivariate analysis showed considerable differences in total costs between the Von Korff back pain grades (GCPS Group I: Mean 414.4, 95% CI [333.2-506.3]; II: 783.6 [574.5-1044.4]; III: 3017.2 [2392.9-3708.6]; IV: 7115.7 [5418.5-9006.5]). Male gender, increasing age, single status, low education, unemployment, and increasing back pain grade had a significant positive impact on the cost magnitude in multivariate analysis. Despite several limitations, this study provides important information concerning the relevance of back pain as a health problem and its socioeconomic consequences. The information may be of value for decision-making and allocation of research fund resources.
Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich School of Management and Munich Center of Health Sciences, Munich, Germany. wenig@bwl.lmu.de
Christina M
CM
Wenig
Carsten O
CO
Schmidt
Thomas
T
Kohlmann
Bernd
B
Schweikert
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001416:Back Pain / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors