Economic Burden of Multiple Sclerosis on patients: Research Findings from Greece

Abstract

The Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune, inflammatory disease, which is the third cause of serious disability for the ages between 20 and 40 years old. More than 8,000 Greeks suffer from this disease. The scope of our research is to estimate the economic burden on patients with MS, through the analysis of their out - of - pocket payments. The study was conducted in 2010 to a random sample of 400 patients, from whom 288 (103 men and 185 women) completed the research questionnaire. The average annual out - of - pocket payments of MS patients, found to be 8,334€, significantly varying by the gender and the severity of the disease. From our research it was unveiled the significant economic burden on patients with MS in Greece. Consequently, it is appointed the imperative need of research on the social and economic cost of MS and of introducing an integrated support system for the patients.