title: Costs of illness and quality of life in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in South Korea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the costs of illness, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and their associated factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in South Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and one patients with SLE were enrolled at the Rheumatology clinic of Seoul National University Hospital. Direct, indirect and total costs and HRQOL were measured using hospital electronic data and face-to-face interview. Socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with cost of illness and HRQOL were analyzed using multiple regression and multivariate logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average total cost of illness was estimated to be KRW 9.82 million (US $ 8993) per year, of which 41.6% was accounted for by direct costs and 58.4% by indirect costs. In multivariate regression, patients with renal involvement and those with depression incurred an average increment in annual total costs of 37.6% (p = 0.050) and 49.1% (p = 0.024), respectively, and an average increment in annual direct costs of 26.4% (p = 0.050) and 43.3% (p = 0.002), respectively, compared with patients without renal involvement and depression, respectively. In addition, disease damage was positively associated with an average increment in annual total and direct costs (55.3%, p = 0.006; 33.3%, p = 0.013, respectively), and the occurrence of indirect costs (OR 2.21, 1.09-4.88). There was no significant difference in HRQOL between patients with and without renal involvement (0.655 vs. 0.693, p = 0.203) CONCLUSION: Renal involvement, depression, and disease damage were major factors associated with higher total and medical costs for patients with SLE in South Korea. Effective treatment of renal disorders and depression may reduce the high economic burden of SLE.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: B Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: E Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea ysong@snu.ac.kr tjlee@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Department of Molecular Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology and College of Medicine, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea ysong@snu.ac.kr tjlee@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Y W
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000150:complications; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D056910:Republic of Korea
keywords: Systemic lupus erythematosus; cost; quality of life