Service use and costs for people with headache: a UK primary care study

The Journal of Headache and Pain

Original

Leone Ridsdale¹  Laura H. Goldstein²  Myfanwy Morgan³  Paul T. Seed⁴  Andrew J. Dowson⁵  Paul McCrone⁶  Lucy V. Clark⁷ 

[1] Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK;Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK;Department of Public Health Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK;Division of Reproduction and Endocrinology, King’s College London, London, UK;King’s College Hospital, London, UK;P024, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, SE5 8AF, London, UK;Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK;

关键词: Economics;    Costs analysis;    Primary care;    Headache;   

DOI  :  10.1007/s10194-011-0362-0

 received in 2011-02-01, accepted in 2011-06-20,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

This paper aims to estimate the service and social costs of headache presenting in primary care and to identify predictors of headache costs. Patients were recruited from GP practices in England and service use and lost employment recorded. Predictors of cost were identified using regression models. Service and social costs were available on 288 and 282 patients, respectively. Average service costs over 3 months were £117 whilst total costs (including lost production) were £582. Patients referred to neurologists had service costs that were £82 higher than those not referred (90% CI £36–£128). Costs including lost employment were higher by £150, but this was not significant (90% CI -£139–£439). The annual mean service and social costs, weighted to represent population rates of referral, were £468 and £2328, respectively. Higher costs were significantly related to pain. Age was linked to higher service costs and lower social costs. The figures extrapolated to the whole of the UK suggest £956 million due to service use and £4.8 billion including lost employment. These are likely to be underestimates because many people experiencing headaches do not consult their GP.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2011