title: Direct medical costs and their predictors in South Korean patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: We aimed to estimate the annual direct medical costs of South Korean systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, and their predictors. The 2010 annual direct medical costs of SLE patients in the Hanyang BAE Lupus cohort in South Korea were assessed. The information was taken directly from the hospital database and medical records, and included clinical characteristics, disease activity, organ damage, and healthcare utilization. Cost predictors were estimated with a multivariate linear regression model. A total of 749 SLE patients (92.7 % female, mean age 35.7 ± 11.3 years, mean disease duration 9.6 ± 4.9 years) were studied. Their mean annual direct medical costs amounted to USD 3305. The largest component of these costs was the cost of medication (USD 1269, 38.4 %), followed by those of diagnostic procedures and tests (USD 1177, 35.6 %). Regression analysis showed that adjusted mean SLE disease activity index score (p < 0.0001), systemic damage index (p < 0.0001), and renal (p = 0.0039) and hematologic (p = 0.0353) involvement were associated with increased direct medical costs, whereas longer disease duration was associated with lower direct medical costs. Greater disease activity and greater organ damage predict higher costs for South Korean SLE patients. Major organ involvement such as renal disorder and hematologic involvement also predicts higher costs, whereas longer duration of disease predicts lower costs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Myongji Hospital, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: So-Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, 17 Haengdang-Dong, Seongdong-Gu, Seoul, 133-792, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Bin
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Etiology Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeeseon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, 17 Haengdang-Dong, Seongdong-Gu, Seoul, 133-792, Republic of Korea.|Clinical Research Center for Rheumatoid Arthritis (CRCRA), Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon-Kyoung
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, 17 Haengdang-Dong, Seongdong-Gu, Seoul, 133-792, Republic of Korea. scbae@hanyang.ac.kr.|Clinical Research Center for Rheumatoid Arthritis (CRCRA), Seoul, Republic of Korea. scbae@hanyang.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Sang-Cheol
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Bae
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016208:Databases, Factual; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018803:Models, Economic; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cost of illness; Direct costs; Disease activity; Organ damage; Systemic lupus erythematosus