title: Socio-economic costs of osteoarthritis: a systematic review of cost-of-illness studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The burden of illness that can be attributed to osteoarthritis is considerable and ever increasing. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze currently available data derived from cost-of-illness studies on the healthcare and non-healthcare costs of osteoarthritis.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed, Index Medicus Español (IME), and the Spanish Database of Health Sciences [Índice Bibliográfico Español en Ciencias de la Salud (IBECS)] were searched up to the end of April 2013. This study adhered to the PRISMA guidelines. Articles were reviewed and the study quality assessed by two independent investigators with consensus resolution of discrepancies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 39 studies that investigated the socio-economic cost of osteoarthritis. Only nine studies took a social perspective. Rather than estimating the incremental cost of osteoarthritis, nine studies estimated the total cost of treating patients with osteoarthritis without a control for comorbidity. The other 30 studies determined the incremental cost with or without a control group. Only nine studies assessed a comprehensive list of healthcare resources. The annual incremental healthcare costs of generalized osteoarthritis ranged from €705 to €19,715. The annual incremental non-healthcare-related costs of generalized osteoarthritis ranged from €432 to €11,956.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study concludes that the social cost of osteoarthritis could be between 0.25% and 0.50% of a country׳s GDP. This should be considered in order to foster studies that take into account both healthcare and non-healthcare costs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics and Business, Pompeu Fabra University, C. Ramón Trias Fargas 25-27, Edificio Jaume I, Barcelona 08005, Spain; Centre for Research in Health and Economics (CRES-UPF), Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jaume.puig@upf.edu.
authors.forename: Jaume
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Puig-Junoy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Health and Economics (CRES-UPF), Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruiz Zamora
mesh_terms: D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000191:economics*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Cost of illness; Healthcare costs; Osteoarthritis; Socio-economic costs