Global burden

COPD carries a significant economic burden. This encompasses both direct costs associated with diagnosis and medical management, and indirect costs such as disability, missed revenue from giving up employment, and caregiver or family costs associated with looking after a patient.¹ The annual direct and indirect per patient costs of COPD globally are shown in Figure 1.²

Figure 1: Economic impact of COPD.²
Adapted from Wouters EFM. Economic analysis of the confronting COPD survey: An overview of results. Respiratory Medicine 2003;97:S3-S14. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09546111.

The increasing financial burden of COPD is known to correlate strongly with disease progression. The cost distribution associated with the disease also changes in line with more frequent exacerbations, hospitalisation and ambulatory oxygen therapy required by those with advanced COPD.³  Table 1 illustrates the incidence of hospitalisation and emergency room (ER) visits in COPD patients across  the USA and Europe.²

Table 1: Incidence of hospitalisation and ER visits for COPD patients across the USA and Europe.²
Adapted from Wouters EFM. Economic analysis of the confronting COPD survey: An overview of results. Respir Med 2003;97:S3-S14. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09546111.

Despite the costly nature of the disease, COPD is relatively underfunded compared to other chronic conditions, particularly considering the mortality and morbidity associated with the disease.

Figure 2: Burden of COPD on healthcare resources.⁴
Adapted from Rennard S, et al. Eur Respir J 2002;20:799–805. This table has been reproduced with the permission of the ERS.  The material has not been reviewed by ERS prior to release, therefore the ERS may not be responsible for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies, or for any consequences arising there from, in the content.

Figure 2 further illustrates the burden of COPD on healthcare resources across eight countries, as assessed by the Confronting COPD study.⁴  Notably, nearly a quarter of respondents reported that they saw a physician once a month for their COPD, and another 30% visited a physician at least every 6 months.

References

1. Global Initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease: Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of COPD. 2010. www.goldcopd.org
2. Wouters EFM. Economic analysis of the confronting COPD survey: An overview of results. Respir Med 2003;97:S3-S14.
3. Jansson SA, Andersson F, Borg S, et al. Costs of COPD in Sweden according to disease severity. Chest 2002;122(6):1994-2002.
4. Rennard S, Decramer M, Calverley PM, et al. Impact of COPD in North American and Europe in 2000: subjects’ perspective of Confronting COPD International Survey. Eur Respir J 2002;20:799–805.