title: The burden of skin disease in the United States.
abstract: Since the publication of the last US national burden of skin disease report in 2006, there have been substantial changes in the practice of dermatology and the US health care system. These include the development of new treatment modalities, marked increases in the cost of medications, increasingly complex payer rules and regulations, and an aging of the US population. Recognizing the need for up-to-date data to inform researchers, policy makers, public stakeholders, and health care providers about the impact of skin disease on patients and US society, the American Academy of Dermatology produced a new national burden of skin disease report. Using 2013 claims data from private and governmental insurance providers, this report analyzed the prevalence, cost, and mortality attributable to 24 skin disease categories in the US population. In this first of 3 articles, the presented data demonstrate that nearly 85 million Americans were seen by a physician for at least 1 skin disease in 2013. This led to an estimated direct health care cost of $75 billion and an indirect lost opportunity cost of $11 billion. Further, mortality was noted in half of the 24 skin disease categories.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan.
authors.forename: Henry W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Associates PC, Tigard, Oregon.
authors.forename: Scott A B
authors.initials: SAB
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Jack S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Resneck
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Jean L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bolognia
authors.affiliation: private practice, Fullerton, California.
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.affiliation: SkinCarePhysicians, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Rohrer
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
authors.forename: Marta J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Van Beek
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Margolis
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Arthur J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Sober
authors.affiliation: Departments of Dermatology and Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Martin A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Weinstock
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Nerenz
authors.affiliation: Department of Science, Quality, and Practice, American Academy of Dermatology, Schaumburg, Illinois.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Smith Begolka
authors.affiliation: Department of Science, Quality, and Practice, American Academy of Dermatology, Schaumburg, Illinois. Electronic address: BSD@aad.org.
authors.forename: Jose V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Moyano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: burden of skin disease; burden of skin disease report; costs of skin disease; direct health care costs; health care economics; indirect health care costs; loss of productivity costs; over-the-counter drug costs; prescription drug costs