Short-term disability in solid tumor patients with bone metastases and skeletal-related events

Abstract

Objective:

The skeleton is a common site of metastasis in patients with solid tumors. These patients often experience pain and reduced quality-of-life. This analysis evaluated the time and costs associated with short-term disability use among solid tumor patients with bone metastases (BM) and skeletal-related events (SREs).

Methods:

Data from patients 18–64 years old with solid tumors and BM, eligible for short-term disability benefits between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2010, were extracted from MarketScan Research Databases. Short-term disability hours and costs associated with BM and SREs were evaluated.

Results:

Overall, 1098 patients met the criteria. For all patients with BM, the monthly mean short-term disability hours were 17.7 h pre-BM diagnosis and increased to 60.2 h post-BM diagnosis (p < 0.001). The corresponding mean monthly short-term disability costs were $277 and $963 in the pre- and post-BM diagnosis periods, respectively (p < 0.001). Monthly mean short-term disability hours were higher for the cohort of patients with SREs (21.2 h pre-SRE diagnosis and 67.4 h post-SRE diagnosis) than for those without an SRE (8.6 h pre-SRE diagnosis and 14.4 h post-SRE diagnosis) (p < 0.001). Similarly, the corresponding monthly mean short-term disability costs were higher for patients with SREs ($625 and $1259 pre- and post-SRE diagnosis, respectively) than for patients without an SRE ($452 and $612 pre- and post-SRE diagnosis, respectively) (p < 0.001). Results of a multivariate analysis indicated that SREs were associated with an additional 39.4 short-term disability hours and $613 in short-term disability costs per month (p < 0.001).

>Conclusion:

Short-term disability hours and costs increased significantly when patients with solid tumors developed BM and SRE.

Keywords::

• Bone metastases
• Productivity loss
• Solid tumors
• Short-term disability
• Skeletal-related events

Transparency

Declaration of funding

This study was funded by Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA. The sponsor provided medical writing assistance to the authors.

Declaration of financial/other relationships

Yi Qian, Arun Balakumaran, and Jorge Arellano are employees and shareholders of Amgen Inc. Xue Song and Kui Zhang are employees of Truven Health Analytics Inc, who conducted the study on the behalf of Amgen Inc.

Acknowledgments

Writing assistance was provided by Amy Foreman-Wykert, PhD (Amgen Inc.). Data included in this manuscript was previously presented at the ISPOR 16th Annual European Meeting; Dublin, Ireland; November 2–6, 2013.