Cost of Stress Urinary Incontinence: A Claims Data Analysis

Objectives: The primary objectives of this research were to: (i) identify and present methodologies for estimating three types of Study Design and Methods: In this paper, we discuss aspects of cost-of-illness methodologies in the context of SUI. We first distinguish between Results: The three approaches yielded substantially different results. For many purposes the incremental cost-of-illness model provides the most appropriate results, as it controls for comorbid conditions, as well as patient demographics. On a per capita basis using the incremental cost-of-illness model, patients with SUI had direct costs that were 134% more than those for their controls and indirect costs that were 163% more than those for controls. Estimating costs for the average (i.e. mean) person results in dollar-termed estimates of the costs of SUI. In particular, we found that in 1998, the average direct medical cost of SUI was $US5642 and the indirect workplace cost of SUI was $US4208. Conclusions: Since the various methods yield substantially different results, it is important that the end user of cost-of-illness analyses of claims data have a clear purpose in mind when reporting the cost of the condition of concern. The incremental cost-of-illness measure for claims data has substantial advantages in terms of enhancing our understanding of the specific cost impact of SUI.