Economic and epidemiological burden of HPV-related diseases in the Czech Republic: A claims database analysis

The study aimed to examine the economic and epidemiological burden of human papillomavirus (HPV) on both men and women in the Czech Republic. It extended beyond the typically studied cervical cancer to encompass a rising incidence of non-cervical HPV-related cancers. The utilization of administrative healthcare claims data enabled the identification of HPV-related diseases using ICD-10 codes. For each identified disease, the proportion corresponding to disease cases directly attributable to HPV was analyzed in terms of the associated healthcare costs. Furthermore, the years of life lost (YLL) and indirect costs associated with premature mortality were calculated using gender-specific life expectancies and average salaries, employing the human capital approach. The findings indicate that there were over 100,000 incident cases of HPV-related diseases between 2018 and 2020, with the majority of these occurring in females (84.2%), and the average age of the patient was 40.6 y. The total medical costs incurred by HPV-related diseases exceeded 1 billion CZK (€41.1 million) over the study period (2018-2020), with an estimated 27,436 y lost due to premature mortality. The indirect costs, attributable exclusively to productivity losses from premature mortality, amounted to over 3.29 billion CZK (€127.7 million). These results highlight the substantial financial and health burdens HPV imposes on the Czech healthcare system, underscoring the necessity for informed policy-making and cost-effective HPV interventions, including enhanced vaccination and preventive programs.