Health care and social care costs of pneumonia in Denmark: a register-based study of all citizens and patients with COPD in three municipalities

Abstract

Background

Pneumonia is a frequent lung infection and a serious illness, which is often diagnosed among patients hospitalized with acute exacerbations of COPD. The aim of this study was to estimate the attributable costs due to pneumonia among patients hospitalized with pneumonia compared to a matched general population control group without pneumonia hospitalization.

Methods

This study includes citizens older than 18 years from three municipalities (n=142,344). Based on national registers and municipal data, the health and social care costs of pneumonia in the second half of 2013 are estimated and compared with propensity score-matched population controls.

Results

The average health care costs of 383 patients hospitalized with pneumonia in the second half of 2013 were US$34,561 per patient. Among pneumonia patients with COPD, the costs were US$35,022. The attributable costs of patients with pneumonia compared to the population control group for the 6-month period were US$24,155 per case. Overall, the attributable costs for the 383 pneumonia cases amounted to US$9.25 million. Subgroup analyses showed that costs increased with age. The attributable costs due to pneumonia were highest among the 18–59-year-old and the 70–79-year-old patients. This difference is likely to reflect an increased risk of mortality among the pneumonia patients. Men have higher costs than women in the pneumonia group.

Conclusion

The costs of pneumonia are considerable. In three Danish municipalities, the attributable costs due to pneumonia were US$24,155 per case or US$64,992 per 1,000 inhabitants in the second half of 2013. Similar high health care and social care costs were found for pneumonia patients with COPD – the largest group having pneumonia episodes. The municipalities are responsible for 49% of the costs, while a closer focus on the prevention of pneumonia may be advisable, eg, starting with citizens having COPD.

Keywords:

• pneumonia
• attributable costs
• COPD
• health care
• social care
• municipalities

Author contributions

Susanne Lausten Brogaard and Maj Britt Dahl Nielsen contributed to the acquisition of data, statistical analyses, interpretation of results, and drafting of the manuscript. Lars Ulrik Nielsen, Trine Mosegaard Albretsen, Morten Bundgaard, Anne Skjoldan, and Grete Breinhild contributed to the study design, acquisition of data, and revision of the manuscript. Niels Anker and Maja Appel contributed to the acquisition of data, statistical analyses, interpretation of results, and revision of the manuscript. Kim Gustavsen, Rose-Marie Lindkvist, and Peter Bo Poulsen contributed to the conception and design of the study, interpretation of results, and revision of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version to be published and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

Pfizer Denmark ApS funded COWI as the technical vendor of the project. The municipalities did not receive any funding from Pfizer and paid for their own participation and work in the project. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.