ReportsThe direct cost of care for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in the United States☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
Definition of psoriasis
Two International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) codes were used to identify services associated with treatment of patients with psoriasis: (1) 696.0 for psoriatic arthropathy (PSA) and (2) 696.1 for other types of psoriasis (including plaque, guttate, pustular, and erythrodermic).
There is considerable controversy in the literature concerning whether PSA is a distinct disease or simply a form of rheumatoid arthritis occurring in patients with psoriasis. Regardless, PSA was
Cost components and costing methodology
In the determination and attribution of relevant costs to psoriasis, a limited societal perspective was adopted with consideration of all direct medical costs. Indirect and intangible costs related to psoriasis are not valued in this cost-of-illness analysis. Direct medical costs are separated into the following primary components of care: hospitalization, inpatient physician services, outpatient physician visits, and prescription medications. The cost of over-the-counter (OTC) medications was
Prevalence of psoriasis
Disease point prevalence, as derived from the psoriasis rates in HANES I and US Bureau of Census data on the US resident population in 1997, is shown in Table III.
Type of condition No. in 1997 Percent of US adult population Clinically significant psoriasis 1,437,000 0.73 Clinically significant psoriasis, currently active 905,000 0.46 Clinically significant psoriasis, in remission 532,000 0.27 Not clinically
Discussion
Among the adult US population in 1997, the prevalence of clinically significant psoriasis from HANES I was 0.73% and the prevalence of all psoriasis was 1.18%. The prevalence of patients with two or more treatments for psoriasis in the last 1.8 years from UHC/DPS data is 1.06%, which appears to be generally consistent with data from HANES I. Estimates on the prevalence of psoriasis in the literature range from 0.5% to 4.6%,9 with most estimates in the range of 1.0% to 2.0%.10, 11 Koo12
Acknowledgements
We extend our appreciation to Heather Patterson, formerly of SmithKline Beecham, for her efforts in assembling the data necessary for some analyses.
References (15)
- et al.
Psoriasis
J Am Acad Dermatol
(1984) Population-based epidemiologic study of psoriasis with emphasis on quality of life assessment
Dermatol Clin
(1996)Long-term use of psoralens and ultraviolet A for psoriasis: evidence for efficacy and cost savings
J Am Acad Dermatol
(1986)- et al.
Prevalence, morbidity, and cost of dermatologic diseases
J Am Acad Dermatol
(1984) - et al.
Introduction
The magnitude of skin disease in the United States
Dermatol Clin
(2000) - et al.
Psoriasis
J Invest Dermatol
(1979) - et al.
Skin conditions and related need for medical care among persons 1-74, United States, 1971-1974
(1978)
Cited by (0)
- ☆
†Deceased.
- ☆☆
Funding sources: A grant from SmithKline Beecham.
- ★
Conflict of interest: None.
- ★★
Reprint requests: Harold S. Javitz, PhD, Center for Health Sciences, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Ave, Menlo Park, CA 94025.