Economic considerations in overactive bladder

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Urology

Background:

• Overactive bladder (OAB) incurs substantial direct, indirect, and intangible costs.
• Quantifying the total economic burden of OAB is essential for societal impact assessment.
• Existing research highlights the significant economic burden of urinary incontinence, a key OAB symptom.

Purpose of the Study:

• To emphasize the need for comprehensive cost quantification in overactive bladder (OAB).
• To outline economic evaluation models applicable to OAB interventions.
• To identify challenges in assessing the economic impact of OAB treatments.

Main Methods:

• Review of cost categories associated with OAB (direct, indirect, intangible).
• Discussion of economic evaluation models: cost-minimization, cost-outcome, cost-utility, cost-benefit.
• Identification of challenges in quantifying intangible costs.

Main Results:

• The total economic burden of OAB remains undetermined.
• Urinary incontinence, a symptom of OAB, has a substantial economic impact.
• Estimating intangible costs presents the primary difficulty in economic impact evaluations.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive understanding of OAB's economic burden requires quantifying all cost types.
• Economic evaluation models are vital for assessing OAB interventions.
• Further research is needed to accurately estimate intangible costs associated with OAB.