Social Cost of Blindness Due to AMD and Diabetic Retinopathy in the United States in 2020

Abstract

Background and objective: To estimate the social cost of blindness due to wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in the United States in 2020.

Patients and methods: Excess costs that occur because of blindness were estimated as the difference in costs in blind versus non-blind individuals. Per-patient costs were aggregated using the number of cases of blindness due to wAMD, DME, and PDR projected in 2020.

Results: Associated annual excess direct costs, indirect costs, and quality-adjusted life year loss per blind individual were $4,944, $54,614, and 0.214, respectively. Combining estimates with 246,423 projected cases of blindness due to wAMD, DME, and PDR translated to total societal costs of $20 billion in 2020, estimated to triple by 2050.

Conclusion: Excess social costs associated with blindness in individuals with wAMD, DME, and PDR are substantial, with more than half of the burden attributed to indirect costs. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2020;51:S6-S14.].