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. 2014 Oct 17:6:445-50.
doi: 10.2147/CEOR.S68920. eCollection 2014.

Economic burden of asthma in Abu Dhabi: a retrospective study

Ashraf Alzaabi  1 , Mohammed Alseiari  2 , Bassam Mahboub  3
Affiliations

Economic burden of asthma in Abu Dhabi: a retrospective study

Ashraf Alzaabi et al. Clinicoecon Outcomes Res. .

Abstract

This study evaluates the direct costs of treating asthma in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Data was compiled for 2011 from health insurance claims covering all medical interventions or treatments coded as asthma. Costs were calculated from a health care perspective. The total direct cost of treating 139,092 asthma patients was estimated to be United Arab Emirates Dirhams (AED) 105 million (US$29 million), corresponding to around AED 750 per patient per annum. The total cost is principally generated by outpatient visits (>AED 85 million; 81% of the total cost). Ten point four percent of patients had made an emergency room visit. The cost per visit seems to be higher during hospital admissions (AED 7,123) compared to outpatient visits and emergency room visits. The direct cost of asthma medications was around AED 33 million (31% of the total cost). The economic burden of asthma in Abu Dhabi is high and the number of emergency visits suggests that the disease is not optimally controlled.

Keywords: Abu Dhabi; Middle East; UAE; asthma; cost.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of asthma treatment costs according to the resource used in Abu Dhabi for the management of asthma. Note: Categories are mutually exclusive. *The dotted shading designates controller med (29,194,429 AED), and the dark grey shading designates rescue med (3,147,098 AED). Abbreviations: AED, United Arab Emirates Dirhams; med, medication.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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