Excess cost of non-remission among outpatients with major depressive disorder

The purpose of this study was to assess the economic benefit of achieving remission among outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who are currently employed in Korea.

Cross-sectional observational study. A total of 337 outpatients with MDD with paid jobs were recruited from 14 psychiatric clinics in Korea and were then divided into three groups as follows: new visit group (n = 128), remitted group (n = 100) and non-remitted group (n = 109). The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) was used to decide whether a patient should be assigned to the remitted or non-remitted group. Direct medical and non-medical costs were measured via interview with the subjects. The World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ) were applied in order to measure the lost productive time (LPT) and related productivity costs.

The three groups did not show a significant difference in direct medical cost. However, the difference between the remitted group and non-remitted group was statistically significant (25.49 ± 52.99 vs. 44.79 ± 126.55, χ (2) = 12.99, p = 0.0015). The remitted group demonstrated a significant improvement in productivity (particularly presenteeism) when compared with the new visit group (Z = -3.29, p = 0.001). Although the non-remitted group received treatment at psychiatric clinics similar to the remitted group, it lost 33 more working hours per month, which is compatible to $332 per month.

These results suggest the economic importance of achieving remission in treating depression.