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Investigating the health economic burden of atopic disease in children from the EAT-On Study
Ru-Xin Foong1,2,3, Joanna Craven1, George Du Toit1,3
1Department of Women and Children's Health (Pediatric Allergy), School of Life Course Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.
Insights
Children with atopic diseases incur higher healthcare costs than those without. This study highlights the significant economic burden of childhood atopy in the UK general population.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health Economics
- Clinical Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood diseases represent a growing health economic burden.
- Understanding healthcare costs associated with atopic conditions in children is crucial.
- This study compares healthcare expenditures between atopic and non-atopic children in the UK.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare healthcare costs in atopic versus non-atopic children.
- To quantify the economic impact of childhood atopy on healthcare services.
- To identify factors associated with healthcare costs in children.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the EAT-On study (children aged 3 months to 7-12 years).
- Collected healthcare utilization data via a health economics questionnaire (HEQ) from 2018-2022.
- Employed two-part logistic regression to analyze cost drivers and likelihood of incurring costs.
Main Results:
- Children with atopic disease incurred higher total healthcare costs (mean difference £77 per participant).
- Atopy was associated with increased utilization of hospital-based services (mean difference £104.3 per participant).
- Younger age (7-12 years) and lower household income (<£60,000/year) correlated with higher healthcare costs.
Conclusions:
- Children with atopy incur significantly greater total healthcare costs compared to non-atopic children.
- The findings underscore the substantial economic impact of childhood atopic diseases.
- Healthcare cost disparities are linked to atopic status, age, and socioeconomic factors.
Background:
There is growing interest in the health economic burden of childhood diseases. This study aimed to compare healthcare costs between atopic and non-atopic children in a general UK population.
Methods:
Participants were recruited from the EAT-On study which followed children originally seen from 3 months old and then 7-12 years. A health economics questionnaire (HEQ) collected data from 2018 to 2022 on the utilization of UK healthcare services and were valued using published unit costs for UK£2021. Mean (standard deviation) resource use and cost were estimated for atopic and non-atopic children, in addition to mean difference (95% confidence interval) between atopic and non-atopic children. Two-part logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the likelihood of a child incurring healthcare costs including variables associated with the level of cost incurred.
Results:
625 children completed the HEQ; 33% reported zero healthcare costs over a 12-month period and 34.4% (215/625) had at least 1 atopic disease. Children with any atopic disease had higher total costs compared to those without atopic disease (mean difference £77 (95% CI -16.9, 170.6) per participant); if extrapolated to population level, this equated to £104.7 million more per year. Children with atopy were more likely to utilize hospital-based services compared to children without atopy (mean difference £104.3 (95% CI 36.2, 172.5) per participant). Being younger in the 7-12 y age bracket or coming from a lower income household (<£60,000/year) was associated with higher total healthcare costs.
Conclusion:
Children with atopy incur greater total healthcare costs compared to children without atopy.
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