Juan Oliva-Moreno

Social-economic costs and quality of life of Alzheimer disease in the Canary Islands, Spain

Objectives: To examine the economic burden (direct and indirect costs) of Alzheimer disease (AD) and to analyze the impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for patients with AD and caregivers in 2001 in the Canary Islands, Spain. Methods: Two hundred thirty-seven patients (61% of those contacted) were recruited from the Alzheimer’s Disease Association in the Canary Islands. Demographic, health resources utilization, informal care, indirect costs, and quality of life data were collected from primary caregivers of patients as proxy respondents. HRQOL was measured for patients and caregivers with the generic questionnaire EQ-5D. Results: The average annual cost per patient with AD was 28,198 (US

The impact of acquired brain damage in terms of epidemiology, economics and loss in quality of life

36,144). The most important categories of costs were for informal care and drugs. Costs increased with cognitive impairment with an average annual cost of 14,956 (US

Loss of labour productivity caused by disease and health problems: what is the magnitude of its effect on Spain's economy?

19,171) for mild, 25,562 (US

Health related quality of life of Canary Island citizens

32,765) for moderate, and 41,669 (US

Inequity in long-term care use and unmet need: Two sides of the same coin

53,411) for severe patients. The total cost of patients with AD in Canary Islands was 259 (US

Caregivers' burden in patients with COPD.

332) million. The HRQOL with the EQ-5D social tariff was 0.29 for patients and 0.67 for caregivers. The EQ-5D VAS (thermometer) score was 42 for patients and 62 for caregivers. Conclusions: Direct health care costs of AD represented 2.4% of the total public health care expenditure in the Canary Islands. Across all severity levels, we estimated a total annual cost of 10 (US

The Valuation of Informal Care in Cost-of-Illness Studies: A Systematic Review

13) billion for AD patients older than 65 years in Spain. The degree of severity of the patients with AD substantially influenced the quality of life of the patients but not that of the caregivers.

Social economic costs and health-related quality of life in patients with systemic sclerosis in Spain.

BackgroundPatients with acquired brain damage (ABD) have suffered a brain lesion that interrupts vital development in the physical, psychological and social spheres. Stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are the two main causes. The objectives of this study were to estimate the incidence and prevalence of ABD in the population of the Basque Country and Navarre in 2008, to calculate the associated cost of the care required and finally to assess the loss in health-related quality of life.MethodsOn the one hand, a cross-sectional survey was carried out, in order to estimate the incidence of ABD and its consequences in terms of costs and loss in quality of life from the evolution of a sample of patients diagnosed with stroke and TBI. On the other hand, a discrete event simulation model was built that enabled the prevalence of ABD to be estimated. Finally, a calculation was made of the formal and informal costs of ABD in the population of the Basque Country and Navarre (2,750,000 people).ResultsThe cross-sectional study showed that the incidences of ABD caused by stroke and TBI were 61.8 and 12.5 cases per 100,000 per year respectively, while the overall prevalence was 657 cases per 100,000 people. The SF-36 physical and mental component scores were 28.9 and 44.5 respectively. The total economic burden was calculated to be 382.14 million euro per year, distributed between 215.27 and 166.87 of formal and informal burden respectively. The average cost per individual was 21,040 € per year.ConclusionsThe main conclusion of this study is that ABD has a high impact in both epidemiological and economic terms as well as loss in quality of life. The overall prevalence obtained is equivalent to 0.7% of the total population. The substantial economic burden is distributed nearly evenly between formal and informal costs. Specifically, it was found that the physical dimensions of quality of life are the most severely affected. The prevalence-based approach showed adequate to estimate the population impact of ABD and the resources needed to compensate the disability.

Economic impact of HIV/AIDS: a systematic review in five European countries.

The aim of this study is to estimate the economic impact of the non-medical costs of diseases and accidents in Spain. Its main premise sustains the idea that in addition to the number of deaths, the loss of quality of life and the pain suffered by patients and their family members as a result of diseases and accidents, there are other indicators that provide us with a better understanding of their socioeconomic impact. Our analysis provides estimates of the loss of labour productivity in Spain as a result of health problems in 2005. Our main finding suggests an estimated loss amounting to over 37,969 millions euros, of which 9,136 millions euros are due to premature deaths, 18,577 millions to permanent disability and 10,255 millions to temporary disability. The loss in labour productivity due to accidents and health problems was estimated to a figure equivalent to nearly 4.2% of the Gross Domestic Product of Spain in 2005. This study underscores the strong economic impact of non-medical costs of diseases. In addition, it stresses the need for better information systems for collecting data that is relevant to the topic at hand.

Social/economic costs and health-related quality of life in patients with rare diseases in Europe.

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to describe the health-related quality of life of Canarian population using information from the Canary Island Health Survey and three observational studies developed in the Canary Islands.MethodsA descriptive analysis was carried out on a sample of 5.549 Canarian citizens using information from 2004 Canary Island Health Survey and three observational studies on Alzheimers disease, Stroke and HIV. EQ-5 D was the generic tool used for revealing quality of life of people surveyed. Besides the rate of people reporting moderate or severe decrease in quality of life, TTO-index scores and visual analogue scale were used for assessing health related quality of life of people that suffer a specific diseases and general population.ResultsSelf-perceived health status of citizens that suffer chronic diseases of high prevalence, identifies by the Canary Island Health Survey and other diseases such Alzheimers disease, Stroke and HIV, independently examined in observational studies, are worse than self-perceived health of general population. Depression/anxiety and pain/discomfort were identified as the dimensions of the EQ-5 D with highest prevalence of problems. Alzheimers disease and stroke were the illnesses with greater loss of quality of life.ConclusionsHealth related quality of life should be integrated into a set of information along with expectancy of life, incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases for developing health policy and planning health care activities The combination of information on health related quality of life from population health surveys with data from observational studies enlarges the sources of relevant information for setting health priorities and assessing the impact of health policies.