Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Costs and quality of life in multiple sclerosis in Europe: method of assessment and analysis

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
The European Journal of Health Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The objective of this observational study in nine European countries was to establish the current cost of MS at different levels of disease severity. The study used a prevalence-based bottom-up to estimate costs from a societal perspective. Patients were recruited via patient organizations and neurology centres and asked by mail to complete a detailed questionnaire concerning their resource consumption, work capacity, quality of life and current disease status. Resources included all health-care and social services, personal expenditures, informal care and temporary or definitive work absence. Quality of life was collected as utility and disease information collected related to functional capacity, relapses and fatigue. The data were analyzed separately for each country, using local unit costs but a fully standardized methodology. A total of 13 186 patients at all levels of disease severity participated in the survey, with an average response rate of around 40% (range 20–75%).

This paper describes the methodology used for the study, while results are presented in the individual country reports.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Holmes J, Madgwick T, Bates D (1995) The cost of multiple sclerosis. Br J Med Econ 8: 181–193

    Google Scholar 

  2. Henriksson F, Jönsson B (1998) The economic cost of multiple sclerosis in Sweden in 1994. Pharmacoeconomics 13: 597–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Carton H, Loos R, Pacolet J, Versieck K, Vlietinck R (1998) Utilisation and cost of professional care and assistance according to disability of patients with multiple sclerosis in Flanders (Belgium). J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 64: 444–450

    Google Scholar 

  4. Kobelt G, Lindgren P, Parkin D et al. (2000) Costs and quality of life in multiple sclerosis. A cross-sectional observational study in the United Kingdom. SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance No. 398. Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden

  5. Henriksson F, Fredrikson S, Masterman T, Jönsson B (2001) Costs, quality of life and disease severity in multiple sclerosis. A cross-sectional study in Sweden. Eur J Neurol 8: 27–35

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Kobelt G, Lindgren P, Smala A, Jönsson B, Group GCoMS (2001) Costs and quality of life in multiple sclerosis. A cross-sectional observational study in Germany. Eur J Health Econ 2: 60–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Amato MP, Battaglia MA, Caputo D et al. (2002) The costs of multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional, multicenter cost-of-illness study in Italy. J Neurol 249: 152–163

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Russo P, Capone A, Paolillo A, Al E (2004) Cost analysis of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in Italy after the introduction of new disease-modifying agents. Clin Drug Invest 24: 409–420

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Kazas E, Grisouard R, Zanni J et al. (2003) Multiple sclerosis treatment with interferon beta: prevalence and cost of the public health fund in 2000. Rev Méd l’Assurance Maladie 34: 147–156

    Google Scholar 

  10. Kobelt G, Berg J, Atherley D, Hadjimichael O, Jönsson B (2004) Cost and quality of life in multiple sclerosis. A cross-sectional study in the USA. SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance No. 594. Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden

  11. Kobelt G, Berg J, Lindgren P, Fredrikson S, Jönsson B (2006) Costs and quality of life of multiple sclerosis in Europe. J Neurol (In press)

  12. Miltenburger C, Kobelt G (2002) Quality of life and cost of multiple sclerosis. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 104: 272–275

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Jönsson B (1996) Quality of life and health economics. Where is the link? Scand J Gastroenterol Suppl 221: 33–36

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Torrance G (1986) Measurement of health state utilities for economic appraisal. A review. J Health Econ 5: 1–30

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Kobelt G (1996) Health economics: introduction to economic evaluation. Office of Health Economics: London, UK

    Google Scholar 

  16. Drummond M, O’Brien B, Stoddart G, Torrance G (1997) Methods for the economic evaluation of health care. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Boston, MA, USA

    Google Scholar 

  17. Johannesson M (1996) Outcome measurement in economic evaluation. Health Econ 5: 279–296

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. The EuroQol Group (1990) EuroQol – a new facility for the measurement of health-related quality of life. Health Policy 16: 199–208

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Torrance G (1992) Multi-attribute value and utility functions for a comprehensive health status classification system. McMasters University: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Google Scholar 

  20. Dolan P, Gudex C, Kind P, Williams A (1995) A social tariff for EuroQol: Results from a UK general population survey. Centre for Health Economics, University of York: York, UK

  21. Henriksson F, Fredrikson S, Jönsson B (2000) Costs, quality of life and disease severity in multiple sclerosis – a cross-sectional study in Sweden. SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance No. 361. Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden

  22. Kobelt G, Lindgren P, Smala A, Jönsson B, Group Gms (2000) Costs and quality of life in multiple sclerosis. A cross-sectional observational study in Germany. SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance No. 399. Stockholm School of Economics; Stockholm, Sweden

  23. Eichler H, Kong S, Gerth W, Al E (2004) Use of cost-effectiveness analysis in health care resource allocation decision-making: how are cost-effectivness thresholds expected to emerge? Val Health 7: 518–528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Kurtzke J (1983) Rating neurological impairment in multiple sclerosis: an expanded disability status scale (EDSS). Neurology 33: 1444–1452

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Orlewska E, Mierzejewski P, Zaborski J et al. (2005) A prospective study of the financial costs of multiple sclerosis at different stages of the disease. Eur J Neurol 12: 31–339

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Hohol M, Orav E, Weiner H (1995) Disease steps in multiple sclerosis: a simple approach to evaluate disease progression. Neurology 45: 251–155

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Schwartz C, Vollmer T, Lee H (1999) North American Research Consortium on Multiple Sclerosis Outcomes Study Group. Reliability and validity of two self-report measures of impairment and disability for MS. Neurology 52: 63–71

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Lublin F, Reingold SC (1996) Defining the clinical course of multiple sclerosis: results of an international survey. Neurology 46: 907–911

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Weinshenker B, Al E (1991) The natural history of multiple sclerosis I and II. Brain 114: 1045–1065

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Kurtzke J (1955) A new scale for evaluating disability in multiple sclerosis. Neurology 5: 580–583

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Kobelt G, Jönsson L, Fredrikson S (2003) A new disease model to estimate the cost of disease progression for different types of MS and different subgroups of patients. Eur J Health Econ 4: 50–59

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Koopmanschap M, Rutten F, Vanineveld B, Vanroijen L (1995) The friction cost method for measuring indirect costs of disease. J Health Econ 14: 171–189

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Interessenkonflikt

Keine Angaben

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gisela Kobelt.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kobelt, G., Berg, J., Lindgren, P. et al. Costs and quality of life in multiple sclerosis in Europe: method of assessment and analysis. Eur J Health Econ 7 (Suppl 2), 5–13 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-006-0365-y

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-006-0365-y

Keywords

Navigation