Asthma, rhinitis, other respiratory diseasesTrends in the cost of illness for asthma in the United States, 1985-1994☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Methods
The 1985 cost estimates were obtained from an economic evaluation of asthma published in 1992. To conduct an accurate comparison, it was essential to closely adhere to the previous analytic methods.1 For all health care utilization data, asthma was defined as code 493 of the International Classification of Disease, ninth revision, and was based on a first-listed diagnosis unless otherwise noted. For each estimate of use, morbidity, and mortality, several years of data were averaged to obtain
Direct medical expenditures
In 1994, there were an estimated 477,000 hospitalizations for asthma in the United States, resulting in 1.93 million bed days with an average length of stay of 4.06 days. The resulting inpatient expenditures for asthma are estimated at $1.8 billion (Table I). There were an estimated 1.6 million ED visits at a cost of $478.6 million.
There were an estimated 10.8 million asthma-related visits to private physician’s offices in 1994 at a cost of $647.4 million (Table I). The majority (61.5%) of
Discussion
The total adjusted and unadjusted costs of asthma in the United States increased during the 10-year period from 1985-1994. The total costs of illness increased less among children (age 17 and younger) than among adults. The per person cost of asthma for children decreased during the 10-year period while increasing slightly for adults.
Changes in the costs of asthma during the 10-year period must be interpreted in view of the changes in asthma morbidity and the secular trends in health care use
Acknowledgements
We thank Tom Hodgson, PhD, for providing insights into the study methods; Dorothy Rice for providing current tables on lifetime earnings, without which it would have been difficult to produce current estimates of indirect costs; David Smith, PhD, for providing estimates of current costs from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey; and Ms Robin Wagner for assisting in manuscript development and preparation.
References (27)
- et al.
An economic evaluation of asthma in the United States
N Engl J Med
(1992) Asthma—United States, 1980-1987
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
(1990)- et al.
Expert panel report: guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma
- et al.
Emergency management of asthma in children: impact of NIH guidelines
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol
(1995) - et al.
Pediatric asthma care in US emergency departments: current practice in the context of the National Institutes of Health guidelines
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med
(1995) - et al.
Physicians’ prevention-related practice behaviors in treating adult patients with asthma: results of a national survey
J Asthma
(1995) Utilization of short-stay hospitals, United States, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1994-96, annual summary
Vital Health Stat
(1983-1987, 1997-98)- et al.
The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: United States, 1975-81 and 1985 trends
Vital Health Statistics
(1988) Ambulatory care visits for asthma: United States, 1993-94. Advance data from vital and health statistics report No. 277
Current estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, United States 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1995, 1996
Vital Health Stat
(1986-88, 1996, 1998-99)
Vital statistics of the United States, 1985
Mortality.
The economic cost of illness: a replication and update
Health Care Finance Rev
Cited by (315)
Dew computing-inspired health-meteorological factor analysis for early prediction of bronchial asthma
2021, Journal of Network and Computer ApplicationsEconomic burden of childhood asthma in children attending a follow-up clinic in a resource-poor setting of Southeast Nigeria
2021, Paediatric Respiratory ReviewsEpigenetics and precision medicine in allergic diseases
2021, Epigenetics in Precision MedicineDo Inhaled Corticosteroids Decrease Hospital Admissions Among Patients With Moderate to Severe Asthma Attacks?
2020, Annals of Emergency MedicineInhaled Corticosteroids in Acute Asthma: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis
2020, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In PracticeA wearable IoT aldehyde sensor for pediatric asthma research and management
2019, Sensors and Actuators, B: Chemical
- ☆
Supported in part by an educational grant from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AFFA).
- ☆☆
Reprint requests: Kevin B. Weiss, MD, Director, Center for Health Services Research, Rush Primary Care Institute, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, 1653 West Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60612.