Abstract
Information about the scope of mental disorders (MDs), resource use patterns in health and social care sectors and economic cost is crucial for adequate mental healthcare planning. This study provides the first representative estimates about the overall utilisation of resources by people with MDs and the excess healthcare and productivity loss costs associated with MDs in Austria. Data were collected in a cross-sectional survey conducted on a representative sample (n = 1008) between June 2015 and June 2016. Information on mental health diagnoses, 12-month health and social care use, medication use, comorbidities, informal care, early retirement, sick leave and unemployment was collected via face-to-face interviews. Generalised linear model was used to assess the excess cost of MDs. The healthcare cost was 37% higher (p = 0.06) and the total cost was twice as high (p < 0.001) for the respondents with MDs compared to those without MDs. Lost productivity cost was over 2.5-times higher (p < 0.001) for those with MDs. Participants with severe MDs had over 2.5-times higher health and social care cost (p < 0.001) and 9-times higher mental health services cost (p < 0.001), compared to those with non-severe MDs. The presence of two or more physical comorbidities was a statistically significant determinant of the total cost. Findings suggest that the overall excess economic burden on health and social care depends on the severity of MDs and the number of comorbidities. Both non-severe and severe MDs contribute to substantially higher loss productivity costs compared to no MDs. Future resource allocation and service planning should take this into consideration.
Highlights
The latest estimates about the prevalence of mental disorders (MDs) across the European Union (EU) countries indicate that 17% of the EU residents are affected by MDs each year [1]
Data were collected as part of the Austrian Psychiatric Prevalence Study (APPS), a crosssectional nation-wide survey conducted on a representative sample of the non-elderly, non-institutionalised adult Austrian general population
This study looked at the excess cost associated with MDs based on a cross-sectional population-based survey in Austria
Summary
The latest estimates about the prevalence of mental disorders (MDs) across the European Union (EU) countries indicate that 17% of the EU residents are affected by MDs each year [1]. Due to the relatively high number of Despite the increasing importance of evidence on the economic burden for use in priority setting, there is scarce evidence on the service utilisation patterns and costs associated with MDs in many countries including Austria. The “Cost of disorders of the brain in Europe” studies that attempted to calculate the costs associated with mental and neurological disorders for the European countries highlighted the importance of national estimates based on national-level data due to potentially differing epidemiological data and variability in the cost of MDs due to healthcare system differences [4]. In Austria, 99.9% of population is covered by social health insurance (SHI) [8]. Funding for other mental health services (e.g., psychosocial services and day centres) relies mostly on regional governments and varies considerably between federal states [8, 13]
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