Category: Epidemiology
Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize attributable healthcare utilization and costs in Parkinson disease (PD) in newly diagnosed PD patients managed by movement disorder specialists over a decade.
Background: PD is chronic, progressive and associated with substantial healthcare costs. There is currently insufficient long-term data on the costs of treatment in patients with PD managed by movement disorder specialists. Identifying patterns in healthcare utilization and cost may help illuminate further discussion about early intervention.
Method: This was a retrospective longitudinal matched-cohort study using linked data from the National Neuroscience Institute Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorder (NNI PDMD) and healthcare administrative databases in Singapore from 2008 to 2017. Healthcare utilization and costs in PD patients were compared to those incurred by controls matched on age, sex and race using 1:1 matching with replacement.
Results: Between 2008-2017, 1162 PD patients met study inclusion criteria and 1157 were matched with controls. The total mean annual healthcare cost (at 2017 costs) was significantly increased in PD patients compared to controls from years 1 to 9 postdiagnosis. The increased cost was observed 2 years prior to PD diagnosis (SGD3102 vs 2742; USD4458 vs 3940; P<0.001). Mean annual cost attributable to PD increased from SGD2477 (USD3559) at 1 year postdiagnosis to SGD3543 (USD5091) at 9 years postdiagnosis. Over up to 9 years of follow-up, average costs were significantly higher across all domains of healthcare utilization except primary care – intermediate and long-term care was increased by a factor of 2.5, specialist care by 2.3, emergency department visits by 1.6, and hospital admissions by 1.3.
Conclusion: PD patients had higher healthcare utilization and costs compared to matched controls. Pre-diagnosis increase in healthcare utilization and costs observed in PD patients supports the presence of prodromal PD and may present an opportunity for early detection and intervention.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
S. Neo, E. Soh, A. Wong, W. Li, HL. Ng, KY. Tay, WL. Au, L. Tan. Longitudinal healthcare utilization and costs in Parkinson disease : from pre-diagnosis to 9 years [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2021; 36 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/longitudinal-healthcare-utilization-and-costs-in-parkinson-disease-from-pre-diagnosis-to-9-years/. Accessed May 15, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2021
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/longitudinal-healthcare-utilization-and-costs-in-parkinson-disease-from-pre-diagnosis-to-9-years/