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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Health Economics
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1531042

The economic burden of atopic dermatitis in Romania: A broad perspective

Provisionally accepted
Alin Codruț Nicolescu Alin Codruț Nicolescu 1Stefan Strilciuc Stefan Strilciuc 2,3*Rozalina Lapadatu Rozalina Lapadatu 4Diana Alecsandra Grad Diana Alecsandra Grad 3Cristian Vlădescu Cristian Vlădescu 5,6Rodica Olteanu Rodica Olteanu 7
  • 1 Emergency Hospital Prof. Dr. Agrippa Ionescu, Bucharest, Romania
  • 2 Research Center for Functional Genomics and Translational Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, Romania
  • 3 RoNeuro Institute for Neurological Research and Diagnostics, Cluj Napoca, Cluj, Romania
  • 4 Asociația Pacienților cu Afecțiuni Autoimune (APAA), Bucharest, Romania
  • 5 Faculty of Medicine, Titu Maiorescu University, Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
  • 6 National Institute for Management of Health Services, Bucharest, Romania, Bucharest, Romania
  • 7 Dermatology Department, Colentina Clinical Hospital, Bucharest, Romania

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD), a common dermatological condition, is often associated with significant economic and social burdens. Despite extensive studies globally, there is a gap in understanding the impact of this condition in Romania. This study evaluated the economic burden of AD in Romania, considering both direct and indirect costs.A cost of illness study, conducted from a broad perspective, considering 2022 as a reference, using top-down and bottom-up approaches and retrospective and prospective data sources was used to assess direct medical costs (treatments, medical services, hospitalizations), direct non-medical costs (associated costs due to transportation, accommodation), and indirect costs (productivity losses) across four costing scenarios.In 2022, the total cost of atopic dermatitis in Romania was €29,810,077.2 for adult patients and €133,635,535.2 for pediatric patients, based on a prevalence-based approach, and €5,529,867.8 for adults and €53,175,049.1 for pediatric AD patients when using an incidence-based approach. Medical costs had the highest attributable share of the AD cost for adult patients while productivity costs (inquired by caregivers) had the highest share for pediatric AD patients in both approaches. The overall average annual cost per patient ranged, depending on the scenarios, between €284.72 and €1,045 for adult AD patients and between €293.73 and €9,558.52 for pediatric AD patients. Discussion: Our results show the increased burden among pediatric AD patients emphasizing the need that future policy interventions should be tailored according the patients' age.

    Keywords: atopic dermatitis, Costs, Burden, Romania, Direct costs, Indirect costs

    Received: 19 Nov 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Nicolescu, Strilciuc, Lapadatu, Grad, Vlădescu and Olteanu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Stefan Strilciuc, Research Center for Functional Genomics and Translational Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, Romania

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.