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Whole-brain Segmentation and Change-point Analysis of Anatomical Brain MRI—Application in Premanifest Huntington's Disease
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Healthcare utilization, costs, and epidemiology of Huntington's disease in Israel

Yael Barer1, Rinat Ribalov2, Ayelet Yaari3

  • 1Maccabi Institute for Research & Innovation, Maccabi Healthcare Services, 27 Ha'Mered St., Tel Aviv 6812509, Israel.

Clinical Parkinsonism & Related Disorders
|July 27, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Huntington's disease (HD) patients in Israel experience higher healthcare use and costs. Medication adherence rates were below 80%, potentially impacting symptom management and quality of life for people with HD.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Epidemiology
  • Health Economics

Background:

  • Data on Huntington's disease (HD) epidemiology, treatment, and economic burden in Israel is limited.
  • Understanding these factors is crucial for healthcare planning and patient support.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the epidemiology, treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and economic burden of HD in Israel.
  • To evaluate medication adherence among people with HD (PwHD).

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of the Maccabi Healthcare Services (MHS) database (2013-2018).
  • Prevalence and incidence of HD calculated using ICD-9-CM codes.
  • Medication adherence (MPR, proportion of disease covered) assessed for PwHD.
  • HCRU and costs compared between PwHD and matched controls without HD.

Main Results:

  • Annual HD prevalence was 4.45/100,000 and incidence was 0.24/100,000.
  • Medication adherence rates (MPR and proportion of disease covered) were below 80% for tetrabenazine, benzodiazepines, and amantadine.
  • PwHD showed significantly higher HCRU, including more specialist visits and hospitalizations, and incurred higher total healthcare costs ($7,343 vs. $3,625 per patient).

Conclusions:

  • People with Huntington's disease in Israel utilize more healthcare resources and incur higher medical costs compared to individuals without HD.
  • Suboptimal medication adherence (<80%) in PwHD may lead to inadequate symptom control and reduced quality of life, highlighting a need for improved treatment strategies.
Abstract

Keywords:
CostsEconomicHuntington’s diseaseMedication use

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