Study Evaluates Costs, Quality Of Life Among MS Patients

According to recent study outcomes, the costs of MS treatments and quality of life appear to be related to the function capacity of the patients.

In the trial, researchers sought to estimate the current costs and quality of life among MS patients who are treated with disease modifying drugs. The authors obtained data on disease costs and disease severity from 4,000 MS patients who were participating in the North American Committee on Multiple Sclerosis Patient Registry. The subjects completed a survey sent through the mail that inquired about work capacity, resource utilization, disease information, and quality of life.

Overall, 1,909 subjects were included in the analysis. The average patient age was approximately 49 years, and the average time since diagnosis was 13 years. The average yearly cost per patients was $47,215. Of this amount, $29,634 (63 percent) was for direct costs such as disease modifying drugs, tests, hospital care and physician care.

The investigators also found that 94 percent of the subjects were treated with one of the new disease modifying drugs at the time of the survey. Disease modifying drugs accounted for one of the greater costs at $16,050 per year. In addition to disease modifying drugs, other drugs prescription drug costs included antidepressants (52.7 percent), anti-spasticity drugs (48.5 percent), and anti-fatigue medication (38.4 percent). Over-the-counter drugs were also used by nearly 60 percent of the subjects. The authors found that all drug use increased as disease severity increased.

All MS patients had lower quality of life scores than individuals from the general population. In addition, those who had experienced a relapse during the prior three months had lower overall quality of life scores.  

The researchers also observed that costs associated with MS were highly related to functional disability and that quality of life decreased with increasing disability.  

This study was published in the June edition of the journal Neurology.

A complimentary medical news service provided by Teva Neuroscience, this news service has been developed independently and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Teva Neuroscience. MS Update is a current news service provided by VerusMed, An Evolution of Faxwatch. The staff of medical writers at VerusMed independently summarize and abstract the most current articles on subjects in multiple sclerosis from the major peer-reviewed medical publications, such as Annals of Neurology, JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of Neurology. In all cases, VerusMed cites the original source of its material.