Estimate of the cost of multiple sclerosis in Spain by literature review

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease leading to increasing disability and costs. A literature review was carried out to identify MS costs and to estimate its economic burden in Spain.

Areas Covered: The public electronic databases PubMed, ScienceDirect and IBECS were consulted and a manual review of communications presented at related congresses was carried out. A total of 225 references were obtained, of which 43 were finally included in the study.

Expert Commentary: Three major cost groups were identified: direct healthcare costs, direct non-healthcare costs and indirect costs. There is a direct relationship between disease progression and increased costs, mainly direct non-healthcare costs (greater need for informal care) and indirect costs (greater loss of productivity). The total cost associated with MS in Spain is €1,395 million per year, and that the mean annual cost per patient is €30,050. Beyond costs, a large impact on the quality of life of patients, with an annual loss of up to 13,000 quality-adjusted life years was also estimated. MS has a large economic impact on Spanish society and a significant impact on the quality of life of patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Cost of the disease
• literature review
• multiple sclerosis
• Spain

Declaration of interest

Polanco A was involved in the study design, in the edition and review of the manuscript, and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The study was conducted by Oblikue Consulting (Barcelona, Spain), an independent consulting company, and received funds from Merck Group. Fernández O, Calleja-Hernández MA, Meca-Lallana J and Oreja-Guevara C received consulting fees from Merck Group. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Notes

1. The original information in the article was presented in pesetas. The official exchange rate of 166.386 pesetas = 1 Euro has been applied.

2. The data for Spain do not appear separately in the study estimate.

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded by Merck Group (Madrid, Spain).