title: Health status and costs of ambulatory patients with multiple sclerosis in Hungary.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Data on disease burden of multiple sclerosis from Eastern-Central Europe are very limited. Our aim was to explore the quality of life, resource utilisation and costs of ambulating patients with multiple sclerosis in Hungary.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed in two outpatient neurology centres in 2009. Clinical history, health care utilisation in the past 12 months were surveyed, the Expanded Disability Status Scale and the EQ-5D questionnaires were applied. Cost calculation was conducted from the societal perspective.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-eight patients (female 70.6%) aged 38.0 (SD 9.1) with disease duration of 7.8 (SD 6.7) years were involved. Fifty-five (80.9%) had relapsing-remitting form and 52 (76.5%) were taking immunomodulatory drug. The average scores were: Expanded Disability Status Scale 1.9 (SD 1.7), EQ-5D 0.67 (SD 0.28). Mean total cost amounted to 10 902 Euros/patient/year (direct medical 67%, direct nonmedical 13%, indirect costs 20%). Drugs, disability pension and informal care were the highest cost items. Costs of mild (Expanded Disability Status Scale 0-3.5) and moderate (Expanded Disability Status Scale 4.0-6.5) disease were 9 218 and 17 634 Euros/patient/year respectively (p<0.01), that is lower than results from Western European countries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study provides current inputs for policy making and contributes to understanding variation of cost-of-illness of multiple sclerosis in Europe.
authors.affiliation: Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment Research Centre, Corvinus University of Budapest. marta.pentek@uni-corvinus.hu
authors.forename: Márta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Péntek
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gulácsi
authors.forename: Csilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rózsa
authors.forename: Magdolna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simó
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iljicsov
authors.forename: Sámuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Komoly
authors.forename: Valentin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brodszky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D016527:Drug Costs; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D056747:Immunomodulation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000191:economics*; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000191:economics; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010415:Pensions; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires