Pharmaeconomical Analysis of Total Medical Costs in Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseses (COPD) in Turkey: A Cross-sectional Study

Trial description: Data estimating the cost of asthma and COPD in the Near East region are lacking. The objective of this study was to determine the annual direct cost of asthma and COPD in Turkey. This was a cross-sectional, multicentre, non-interventional study performed in adult patients with asthma or COPD in Turkey between 2009 and 2010. Estimation of annual direct costs was based on data from the National Social Security Institution. This study estimated costs related to diagnosis of the disease, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment and other healthcare resource utilisation. Estimated costs were then compared according to disease severity and the level of disease control determined according to international standard guidelines.A total of 596 patients were included in the study; 301 patients with asthma and 295 with COPD. Overall, the total annual direct cost per patient was higher in patients with COPD (€4,621 [95%CI:2,566-6,677]) compared to those with asthma (€3,589 [95CI%:3,010-4,168]. The cost of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment was €2,423 [95%CI:2004-2,841] for asthma and €1,222 [95%CI:866-1,579] for COPD; the cost of diagnosis was €60 [95%CI:54-67] for asthma and €44 [95%CI:38-49] for COPD; the cost of other healthcare resource utilisation was €1,166 [95%CI:819-1,513] for asthma and €3,399 [95%CI:1,496-5,302] for COPD. For both diseases, total direct cost increased significantly (p<0.001) in patients with more severe disease.This study indicates that the economic impact of asthma and COPD in Turkey is high and is significantly associated with the level of control and disease severity. In this respect, implementation of strategies to improve control and to reduce the severity of the disease should be considered in order to limit the economic burden of asthma and COPD.