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Multicenter Study
. 2025 Feb;16(1):135-148.
doi: 10.1007/s41999-024-01086-8. Epub 2024 Nov 13.

Healthcare costs in relation to kidney function among older people: the SCOPE study

Francesco Balducci  1 , Mirko Di Rosa  2 , Regina Roller-Wirnsberger  3 , Gerhard Wirnsberger  3 , Francesco Mattace-Raso  4 , Lisanne Tap  4 , Francesc Formiga  5 , Rafael Moreno-González  5 , Tomasz Kostka  6 , Agnieszka Guligowska  6 , Rada Artzi-Medvedik  7   8 , Itshak Melzer  7 , Christian Weingart  9 , Cornel Sieber  9 , Johan Ärnlöv  10   11 , Axel C Carlsson  10   11 , Fabrizia Lattanzio  1 , Andrea Corsonello  1   12 ; Screening for CKD among Older People across Europe (SCOPE) study investigators
Collaborators, Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Healthcare costs in relation to kidney function among older people: the SCOPE study

Francesco Balducci et al. Eur Geriatr Med. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: In this study, a comprehensive analysis of costs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was performed, to understand factors associated with the economic burden of the disease in a multicentre international framework.

Methods: The impact on costs of demographics, socio-economics, clinical, and functional variables was tested in 2204 subjects aged 75 years or more attending outpatient clinics in Europe using a multicentre 2-year prospective cohort study. By means of collected resources consumption and unit cost data a comprehensive cost database was built and then investigated using multilevel regression modeling.

Results: Overall, hospitalization, medications and specialist visits were the main cost items, with a notable variability among countries. Estimated yearly costs were 4478€ ± 9804€, rising up to 6683€ ± 10,953€ for subjects with estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) < 30. Costs increased significantly according to the severity of the disease, gender and age. Clinical and functional covariates were also significantly associated with CKD-related total costs, even after correcting for the inter-country variability.

Conclusion: Findings corroborate the importance of multidimensional assessment of participants with CKD, as multimorbidity and functional disability produce a detrimental impact on participant's prognosis and cost of care. Preservation of functional impairment and adequate management of comorbidities may thus help decreasing the overall consumption on health care resources in CKD patients, especially in older people.

Keywords: Chronic kidney disease; Healthcare costs; Multicentre; Older people; Resources consumption.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: Johan Ärnlöv has received lecture fees from AstraZeneca and Novartis and served on advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim and Astella, all unrelated to the present project. All Authors declare to have no conflict of interest to disclose. Ethical approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow-chart of data
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mean total costs by eGFR level (a) and by medical center (b) (6 months totals, 2019 €). eGFR estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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