COST OF ILLNESS OF PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Seoul, Korea–Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic disease accompanied by physical disabilities and a number of comorbidities, results in significant economic burden, reduced productivity, and deteriorated quality of life.

It is anticipated that the cost-of-illness (COI) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with RA rely on levels of functional severity.

An interview survey administered to 196 RA patients recruited at the rheumatology clinic of a large university hospital in Seoul shows that, as RA functional severity worsened, the total costs increased accordingly and the HRQOL of the RA patients deteriorated. This study, “Cost of Illness and Quality of Life of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in South Korea,” was co-authored by Tae-Jin Lee, Bo Hyun Park, and Hye Kyung Son of Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University and Ran Song, Ki Chul Shin, Eun Bong Lee, and Yeong-Wook Song of Seoul National University Hospital.

The COI and HRQOL of patients with RA will be discussed in the 3rd Special Issue: Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research in Asia (Volume 15, Supplement 1) of Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). 

Dr. Lee says that preventing the aggravation of functional severity is crucial for decreasing the COI and improving the HRQOL of RA patients.

Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research as well as policy papers to help health care leaders make evidence-based decisions. The journal is published bi-monthly and has over 8,000 subscribers (clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide).

International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) is a nonprofit, international, educational and scientific organization that strives to increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness of health care resource use to improve health. 

For more information: www.ispor.org

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