Economic burden of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: DISCOVER study.

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Health Economics
• Public Health

Background:

• Secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) significantly impacts patients' lives and healthcare systems.
• Estimating the comprehensive socioeconomic burden of SPMS is crucial for resource allocation and policy development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the direct healthcare, direct non-healthcare, and indirect costs associated with SPMS.
• To investigate the relationship between patient costs and their functional outcomes.

Main Methods:

• An observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study collected retrospective data from 34 hospitals in Spain (2019-2020).
• Data included clinical status (EDSS, relapses, DMT), comorbidities, resource utilization, costs, and patient-reported outcomes over 12-24 months.
• Real-world clinical practice data from neurology services were analyzed.

Main Results:

• The estimated annual socioeconomic burden per patient with SPMS in Spain was approximately €41,500.
• Indirect costs constituted over 50% (€21,400), followed by direct healthcare (€11,300) and direct non-healthcare costs (€8,800).
• Higher costs were associated with older age, severe disability, and worse functional outcomes.

Conclusions:

• SPMS represents a substantial burden on healthcare systems, patients, and society.
• Healthcare and societal policies should focus on optimizing the SPMS care pathway.
• Minimizing out-of-pocket expenses for direct non-healthcare costs for patients is recommended.