Marseille 2007
| Abstract #119 - The Costs of AIDS and HIV in Northeast Italy | ||||
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Session: 11.5: Cost (Parallel) on Monday @ 11.00-12.30 in HC Chaired by Eileen Stillwaggon, Didier Fassin Authors: Presenting Author: Mr Gijs Hubben - University of Groningen, Netherlands |
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| Additional Authors: Dr David Bishai, Dr A Brown, Mr Roberta Grisetti, Mr Anna Maria Cattelan, Mr Chiara Facchin, Dr Maarten Postma, Dr Andrea Tramarin, | ||||
| Aim: To characterize the medical and productivity costs of AIDS and HIV in the Veneto and Lombardi Regions of Italy. | ||||
| Method / Issue: A longitudinal sample of 120 patients with HIV infection was enrolled in 2 cities in Northeast Italy. The clinicians categorized patients into 3 categories at baseline: Never on HAART, Stable on HAART, and HAART Salvage--defined as alteration in HAART cocktail in past 12 weeks. The MOS-HIV and a quality of life rating scale were collected at baseline and at 2 successive 6 month intervals. Medical costs were computed for the first 6 months and the second 6 months based on utilization of drugs, lab tests, and consultations. Patients were surveyed to determine labor force participation, subjective productivity, and quality of life. | ||||
| Results / Comments: Median annual costs for medical care were Euros 689, and 6389, 8127 for patients classified as Never on HAART, Stable on HAART, and HAART Salvage respectively. Adjusting for disease related changes in probability of working and for missed workdays we estimate monthly earnings as Euros 1524, 1380, and 1036 for the same respective groups, or Euros 18288, 16560 and 12432 annually. Quality of life, symptom free days, and CD4 count were all independent predictors of the probability of working. Monthly government stipends for patients on HAART ranged from Euros 110-120. Presenteeism defined as attending work while suffering health related impairments in productivity accounted for only 1-2% of losses in economic performance due to HIV. | ||||
| Discussion: Patients on HAART are economically productive and the annual value of their collective work output more than pays for their medical costs. | ||||
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