title: [Cost of childhood asthma in Spain: a cost evaluation model based on the prevalence].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood, reduces the quality of life of children and their families, and produces high social and health care costs. In Spain, the cost of managing paediatric asthma is unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the cost of managing paediatric asthma in Spain and to examine its variability depending on asthma severity.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cost of asthma in children under 16 years in 2008 was estimated by building a costs assessment model including the factors that influence the cost of asthma in children: prevalence, distribution of disease severity, age, frequency of resources use depending on severity, and the cost of each resource. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the underlying uncertainty depending on the variability of the estimators of resource use, the unit cost of each resource, and the prevalence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to the model, the total cost of paediatric asthma in Spain is around 532 million euros, with a range of 392 to 693 million euros. Direct costs (health care costs) represent 60% of the total costs, and indirect costs (carer time), 40%. The mean annual cost per child with asthma is 1,149 euros, ranging from 403 euros for the mildest category of the disease to 5,380 euros for the most severe.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cost of paediatric asthma in Spain is very high and depends on disease severity. Although the most important costs are for the health care system, indirect costs are not negligible.
authors.affiliation: Técnicas Avanzadas de Investigación en Servicios de Salud (TAISS), Madrid, Spain. ablasco@taiss.com
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Blasco Bravo
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Pérez-Yarza
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lázaro y de Mercado
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonillo Perales
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Díaz Vazquez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moreno Galdó
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018803:Models, Economic; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013030:Spain