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. 2024 Jul;13(7):1937-1953.
doi: 10.1007/s40123-024-00959-2. Epub 2024 May 21.

Burden of Disease Study of Patients with Diabetic Macular Oedema in Spain

José M Ruiz-Moreno  1 , María Gámez Lechuga  2 , Pilar Calvo  3 , María Merino  4 , Teresa Martín Lorenzo  5 , Paulina Maravilla-Herrera  5 , Beatriz Gil Jiménez  6 , Maximino J Abraldes  7
Affiliations

Burden of Disease Study of Patients with Diabetic Macular Oedema in Spain

José M Ruiz-Moreno et al. Ophthalmol Ther. 2024 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetic macular oedema (DMO) is a complication of diabetic retinopathy that can result in vision loss. The disease can impact different spheres of a patient's life, including physical and psychological health, work, and activities of daily living, entailing an important use of healthcare and non-healthcare resources. This study aimed to estimate the socio-economic burden of DMO in Spain.

Methods: The burden of DMO was estimated from a societal perspective, per patient, year of treatment since diagnosis, and type of treatment. Four categories were considered: direct healthcare costs (DHC), direct non-healthcare costs (DNHC), labour productivity losses (LPL), and intangible costs (IC) associated with loss of quality of life. Average annual costs were calculated by multiplying the resources used per patient by their corresponding unit price (or financial proxy). For a more accurate estimation, differences in resource use between treatments (intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections of ranibizumab or aflibercept, and intravitreal dexamethasone implants) and year since diagnosis (first, second, and third year or beyond) were considered and presented separately. The reference year for costs was 2021.

Results: The average annual costs of DMO in the first year of treatment after diagnosis was estimated at €18,774, €17,512, and €16,188 per patient treated with ranibizumab, aflibercept, and dexamethasone, respectively. This burden would be reduced to €15,783, €15,701, and €12,233 in the second year, and to €15,119, €15,043, and €12,790 in the third year, respectively. Diagnosis of DMO entails an additional one-off cost of €485. DHC accounted for the greatest proportion of total annual costs per patient, independent of the year, with LPL also making an important contribution to total costs.

Conclusions: The socio-economic impact of DMO on patients, the healthcare system, and society at large is substantial. The constant increase in its prevalence accentuates the need for planning and implementation of healthcare strategies to prevent vision loss and reduce the socio-economic burden of the disease.

Keywords: Burden of disease; DMO; Healthcare costs; Non-healthcare costs; Productivity losses; Quality of life; Resource consumption.

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Conflict of interest statement

José M. Ruiz-Moreno, María Gámez Lechuga, Pilar Calvo, and Maximino J. Abraldes declare having received payments from Roche for participating as members of the advisory committee for this study. María Merino, Teresa Martín Lorenzo, and Paulina Maravilla-Herrera declare that they are employees of Weber, a company that has received payments from Roche to conduct this study. Beatriz Gil Jiménez declares to be an employee of Roche Farma, a company that has funded this study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Burden of DMO study design. DMO diabetic macular oedema. *One-off cost not included in the total cost
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Year 1 of treatment for patients with DMO that are refractory to three loading doses of intravitreal anti-VEGF injections and switch to dexamethasone intravitreal implants. DMO diabetic macular oedema
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Total costs per patient stratified by treatment and year since diagnosis (2021 €). Error bars represent the results of the sensitivity analysis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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