Burden of Sciatica on US Medicare Recipients.

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Sciatica is a prevalent cause of disability with substantial physical, mental, and economic impacts.
• The Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (HOS) collects data on demographics, chronic conditions, and patient-reported outcomes for Medicare Advantage plans.
• Understanding sciatica's burden is crucial for managing care within large health systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the disease burden of sciatica within the US Medicare population.
• To identify demographic and clinical characteristics associated with sciatica in this cohort.
• To assess the impact of sciatica on patient-reported physical and mental health outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Medicare HOS data from 2007-2013 for an observational-cohort study.
• Categorized 1,000,952 patients into sciatica (25%) and non-sciatica (75%) groups.
• Analyzed baseline demographics, comorbidities, and VR-12 physical and mental component summary scores at baseline and 2-year follow-up.

Main Results:

• A 25% prevalence of sciatica was identified in the Medicare cohort.
• Sciatica patients were younger, less educated, and had more comorbidities.
• Sciatica was associated with significantly lower physical (8 units) and mental (6 units) health scores at baseline, persisting at 2-year follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Symptomatic sciatica is highly prevalent in the US Medicare population, affecting one in four beneficiaries.
• Sciatica is strongly associated with a higher incidence of comorbid medical conditions.
• The condition significantly diminishes health-related quality of life, impacting both physical and mental well-being.