Socioeconomic Burden of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients at Ballari District – A Cross-sectional Study

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the main causes of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance and the leading killer of people with HIV. The emergence of strains with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) has led to a resurgence of TB as a major public health menace worldwide, and MDR-TB has been an area of growing concern in recent years and is posing threat to global efforts for TB control. It has been seen that apart from physical symptoms, TB patients face various problems that are social, economic, and psychological in nature. Therefore, for the assessment of patients’ health status, it is necessary to consider the overall effect of TB on health and patients’ perception of well-being, besides routine clinical, radiological, and bacteriological assessments, so this present cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the burden of MDR-TB on the social, economic, and psychological well-being of the patients residing at Ballari. Methods: There are 79 MDR-TB cases registered at DR-TB center and residing in Ballari district. The data were collected from individual patients by home visits according to TB units, using a pre-designed pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire to measure the social, economic, and psychological burden of MDR-TB using standard tools. The data were entered into Microsoft Excel 2007 spreadsheet. Final analysis was done using SPSS for Windows 20.0 version. Social, economic, and psychological burden was analyzed with 95% confidence interval. Results: 68.3% patients became unemployed because of disease, 62 (78.5%) patients have to depend on others/family member for their daily routine work, and 69 (87.3%) patients are worried or had mental anguish about their disease status. The mean total cost incurred per patient is ₹58,061.99 (approximately US$ 855). The mean total direct cost incurred per patient is ₹21,318.8 (US$ 314). The mean total indirect cost incurred per patient is ₹36,743 (US$ 514). The mean pre-diagnosis and diagnosis cost per patient is ₹11,628 (US$ 171). The mean guardian cost per patient is ₹3,991.3 (US$ 59). The mean direct hospitalization cost incurred per patient is ₹6,315.44 (US$ 93). 14 (35%) patients from upper and middle class (Classes 1, 2, and 3) are shifted to lower socioeconomic classes (Classes 4 and 5). 60 (75.9%) patients have stopped working/doing household work for more than equal to 6 months because of disease. Conclusions: Study finding indicates that there is a significant social, economic, and psychological impact of MDR-TB that has a direct impact on the quality of life of MDR-TB patients and their families. There is a need for psychosocial intervention model (strategies) for MDR-TB patients and their caregivers to mitigate the negative effects of disease.Key words: Burden, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, socioeconomic burden, tuberculosis

Estimating the social and economic burden of road traffic injuries in the Philippines

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>BACKGROUND:</strong> Road traffic injuries (RTI) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Despite underreporting, the scarce Philippine data suggest that RTI pose a significant health problem in the country. It is imperative, therefore, to accurately quantify the burden of RTI in the Philippines.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>OBJECTIVE:</strong> This study aimed to provide the first comprehensive baseline estimation of the socioeconomic burden of RTI in the Philippines for year 2014.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>METHODS:</strong> The study was a mixed method study design that utilized both primary and secondary data. These data were used to construct parameters needed for the modeling estimates. Measure of socioeconomic burden estimated were (1) economic costs, (2) disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and (3) healthy life years (HeaLY).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>RESULT:</strong> Estimated deaths due to RTI in 2014 were 12,336 translating to 454,650 years life lost due to premature death. Injury episodes from RTI were estimated to be 2,798,088 in 2014 with 186,174 leading to admissions, translating to 56,224 years life lost to disability. The total DALY loss due to RTI in 2014 was estimated at 510, 874, while healthy life years lost were estimated to be 76,215,477.4. The estimated deaths and injuries for that year equaled to direct medical cost of PhP 1.213 B, productivity loss due to premature death of PhP 24.620 B, and productivity loss due to illness of PhP 685 M resulting to a total economic cost of PhP 26.519 B to the society.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> The findings indicate that RTI is an important public health concern in the Philippines with substantial economic and health burden. Investing in preventive measures will likely yield significant economic and health gains for the Philippines.</p>

Prevalence and socioeconomic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and irreversible airflow obstruction. It is caused by smoking, occupational exposure, and air pollution. It shows a high prevalence, both in South Korea and worldwide. The global COPD prevalence is 11.7%, and a similar prevalence has been reported in South Korea. In the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010–2016, the prevalence of COPD was found to be between 13.1% to 14.6%. The prevalence of COPD is increasing continuously. Aging, male sex, smoking, and air pollution are risk factors of COPD. However, COPD is strikingly under-recognized given its prevalence. Three million people die annually due to COPD, and the mortality burden of COPD is increasing along with population aging. The socioeconomic burden of COPD is becoming enormous.

Sleep Disorder and Socioeconomic Burden / 수면정신생리

Sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and restless legs syndrome (RLS) are very common disorders and may cause significant burden in terms of individual as well as societal aspects. Sleep insufficiency from such sleep disorders may cause deleterious effects on daily work life and may be associated with other major medical or psychiatric disorders including cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, depression, and anxiety disorder. Various motor or occupational accident may result from the sleep problems. In addition, recent researches provide the method to evaluate the lost productivity time in terms of absenteeism and presenteeism. Moreover, several studies on cost-effectiveness of treatment of sleep disorders show that it is cost-effective.

Socioeconomic burden of the polycystic ovary syndrome / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to estimate socioeconomic burden of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) during the reproductive life span using current definitions and prevalence or incidence data. METHODS: Questionnaires were given to 8,588 reproductive women reviewed at Ewha Womans University Mokdong hospital. The PCOS affected approximately 10.4% of reproductive-aged women (11 million women in Korea, prevalence rate according to 1990 National Institutes of Health PCOS diagnosis criteria). We tied general societal cost data for the different health consequences to reproductive-age PCOS costs, using prevalence data. RESULTS: We estimated the mean annual cost of the initial evaluation to be 76 hundred million won, that of hormonally treating menstrual dysfunction, providing infertility care, diagnosis/treatment of endometrial hyperplasia, GDM, type 2 DM, and hypertension to be 280 billion won. The total annual socioeconomic cost of evaluating and providing care to reproductive-aged PCOS women in Korea is 350 billion won. CONCLUSION: Because the cost of the diagnostic evaluation accounted for a relatively minor part of the total socioeconomic costs, more widespread screening for PCOS appears be a cost-effective strategy, leading to earlier diagnosis and intervention and possibly the amelioration and prevention of serious sequelae.