title: The Humanistic and Economic Burden of Narcolepsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the burden of narcolepsy--with respect to psychiatric comorbidities, Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), direct costs for healthcare resource utilization, and indirect costs for reported work loss-through comparison of patients to matched controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  This analysis was conducted on data from the 2011, 2012, and 2013 US National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS; 2011 NHWS n = 75,000, 2012 NHWS n = 71,157, and 2013 NHWS n = 75,000). Patients who reported a narcolepsy diagnosis (n = 437) were matched 1:2 with controls (n = 874) on age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, household income, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol use, exercise, and physical comorbidity. Chi-square tests and one-way analyses of variance were used to assess whether the narcolepsy and control groups differed on psychiatric comorbidities, HRQoL, labor force participation, work productivity, and healthcare resource utilization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with narcolepsy, in comparison to matched controls, reported substantially (two to four times) greater psychiatric comorbidity, HRQoL impairment, prevalence of long-term disability, absenteeism, and presenteeism, and greater resource use in the past 6 mo as indicated by higher mean number of hospitalizations, emergency department visits, traditional healthcare professional visits, neurologist visits, and psychiatrist visits (each p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These population-based data suggest that a narcolepsy diagnosis is associated with substantial adverse impact on mental health, HRQoL, and key economic burdens that include work impairment, resource use, and both direct and indirect costs. Although this study is cross-sectional, the results highlight the magnitude of the potential opportunity to improve mental health, lower costs, and augment work-related productivity through effective assessment and treatment of narcolepsy.
authors.affiliation: Kantar Health, Foster City, CA.
authors.forename: Natalia M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto, CA.
authors.forename: Kathleen F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.affiliation: Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto, CA.
authors.forename: Jed
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Ronald D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Chervin
authors.affiliation: Kantar Health, Princeton, NJ.
authors.forename: Edward A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Witt
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009290:Narcolepsy / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: burden of illness; costs of illness; mental disorders; narcolepsy; quality of life