Abstract
PurposeTo estimate the societal costs of low back pain with/without radiating leg pain (LBP). LBP is a major burden in terms of both personal suffering and societal costs.MethodsPatients visiting healthcare providers with a LBP-diagnosis in the Western region of Sweden (Västra Götaland) in 2008–2011 were identified in national registers and an administrative patient database. Direct healthcare costs and indirect costs in terms of sick leave and early retirement were summarized over time periods called LBP episodes, starting with a LBP-related healthcare contact or work absence due to LBP and ended when 6 months had elapsed without any LBP-related healthcare contact or work absence.ResultsThe mean total cost per episode was estimated at €2753 with a mean duration of 51 days. There was a sharp increase in total cost the first month after the LBP episode started and a marked decrease from the second month. Total cost leveled off at a higher level during the 2 years after episode start compared with the 2 years before episode start. The total economic burden of LBP in Sweden including all LBP episodes that started in 2011 was estimated at €740 million, or €78 per capita.ConclusionsLBP has an apparent impact on the overall resource use and work loss. The results indicate that there is a high short-term cost increase at the beginning of an LBP episode, but also that the costs decrease in the long term after the LBP symptoms have come to clinical attention.Graphical abstractThese slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
Highlights
Low back pain (LBP), with or without radiating pain, is a major burden in terms of both personal suffering and societal costs
The proportion of Västra Götaland’s population who had at least one LBP episode increased from 2.0% in 2008 to 2.9% in 2011
The current study adds details to the existing literature about the timely effects that LBP has on the healthcare system and society at large in Sweden
Summary
Low back pain (LBP), with or without radiating pain, is a major burden in terms of both personal suffering and societal costs. According to the Global Burden of Disease study, LBP is the single largest contributor to years lived with disability [1]. In Sweden, the number of disability-adjusted life years lost to LBP increased by 0.065% annually over the last 25 years, according to the same study [2]. European Spine Journal (2018) 27:2875–2881 was the largest diagnosis group in all paid short-term sick leave benefits in Sweden in 2001 [3]. Despite its considerable contribution to disability worldwide, the attention LBP has received has delivered less than optimal improvement for those affected on a group level
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