title: Cost-of-illness studies and cost-effectiveness analyses in eating disorders: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review cost-of-illness studies (COIs) and cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) of eating disorders (EDs) and to describe their methodological quality.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic literature search was done. Search results passed through a selection process, included studies were classified as COIs, CEAs, or "other cost studies" (OCS). Costs were inflated and converted to 2008 US$ purchasing power parities (PPP). Quality criteria were developed and applied to each study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five COI, two CEA, and eleven "OCS" were reviewed. Most studies focused on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Annual costs per patient ranged from 1,288 to 8,042 US$-PPP. All interventions, investigated in CEA, were more effective and less costly than the alternative treatments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of publications investigating costs in EDs has increased recently. However, no COI provided a comprehensive estimate of costs, and the comparability of CEA was limited. Nonetheless, the results indicate that the costs arising from EDs are substantial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sociology and Health Economics, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. n.stuhldreher@uke.de
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stuhldreher
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Konnopka
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wild
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zipfel
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Löwe
authors.forename: Hans-Helmut
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: König
mesh_terms: D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans