The economic burden of coronary heart disease in mainland China

Abstract

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the current economic burden of coronary heart disease (CHD) in mainland China and provide a reference for the formulation of policies to reduce the economic burden of CHD. Study designA systematic literature review was conducted of empirical studies on the economic burden of CHD over the past 20 years. MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database and the WANFANG database were comprehensively searched for relevant articles published between 1 January 2000 and 22 December 2021. Content analysis was used to extract the data, and Stata 17.0 software was used for analysis. The median values were used to describe trends. ResultsA total of 35 studies were included in this review. The annual median per-capita hospitalisation expense and the average expense per hospitalisation were $3544.40 ($891.64–$18,371.46) and $5407.34 ($1139.93–$8277.55), respectively. The median ratio on medical consumables expenses, drug expenses, medical examination expenses and treatment expenses were 41.59% (12.40%–63.73%), 26.90% (7.30%–60.00%), 9.45% (1.65%–33.40%) and 10.10% (2.36%–66.00%), respectively. The median per-capita hospitalisation expense in the eastern, central and western regions were $9374.45 ($2056.13–$18,371.46), $4751.5 ($2951.95–$8768.93) and $3251.25 ($891.64–$13,986.38), respectively. The median average expense per hospitalisation in the eastern and central regions were $6177.15 ($1679.15–$8277.55) and $1285.49 ($1239.93–$2197.36), respectively. The median average length of stay in the eastern, central and western regions were 9.3 days, 15.2 days and 16.1 days, respectively. ConclusionsThe economic burden of CHD is more severe in mainland China than in developed countries, especially in terms of the direct economic burden. In terms of the types of direct medical expenses, a proportion of medical examination expenses, treatment expenses and drug expenses were lowest in the eastern region, but medical consumables expenses were the highest in this region. This study provides guidance for the formulation of policies to reduce the economic burden of CHD in mainland China.