Costs and Quality of Life in Patients With Systemic Arterial Hypertension in Slovenia

Abstract

Objectives: Systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) is one of the most critical risk factors for morbidity in chronic noncommunicable diseases. The aim of this study was to estimate the costs incurred by and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for a sample of patients with AH aged ≥ 65, in 2019.

Methods: A sample of 142 patients who were taking medicines for SAH was selected from the urban and rural areas. The patients consented to participate in the study. Patients also reported their out-of-pocket expenditures connected to SAH and their HRQoL. HRQoL was measured using generic 5-level version of EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L) and the disease-specific MINICHAL questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was used to present the results. Calculations were made using R (v4.01) software.

Results: A sample of 141 patients filled out 17-item MINICHAL and 142 filled out the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. Patients' MINICHAL mood and somatic domain scores were 5.5 and 3.5, respectively. EQ-5D-5L mean index utility score was 0.7 and the mean EQ VAS was 70.9. Pain/discomfort was the most affected health dimension as 60.6% of patients reported having problems. The 2 HRQoL questionnaires are moderately correlated (-0.215). The average annual costs of SAH treatment amounted to €274.3 per patient. The largest share of costs is represented by pharmacological treatment (30.5%) and out-of-pocket expenses (28.2%).

Conclusions: Our study is the first study in Slovenia to assess the costs incurred by and HRQoL of patients with SAH using bottom-up approach and societal perspective. It offers important input in a decision-analytic model to assess cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce the burden of SAH.

Keywords: EQ-5D-5L; MINICHAL; direct costs; healthcare costs; hypertension; indirect costs; patient-reported outcomes measures.