Healthcare Costs and Medication Use in Essential Tremor Patients
Author Information
Author(s): Pahwa Rajesh MD, Colletta Kalea DO, Higgins Donald MD, Schroader Bridgette Kanz PharmD, MPA, BCOP, Davis Brian M. PhD, MPH, Hennum Liana MPT, MHA, Louis Elan D. MD, MS
Primary Institution: University of Kansas Medical Center
Hypothesis
What are the economic correlates and comorbidities among adults with and without essential tremor?
Conclusion
Essential tremor patients have higher healthcare costs and utilization compared to non-ET patients, which correlates with the number of medications they take.
Supporting Evidence
- ET patients filled more unique medications than non-ET patients.
- ET patients had higher rates of comorbidities like anxiety and depression.
- Healthcare costs increased with the number of ET medications taken.
- Approximately 52% of ET patients were not treated for their condition.
- Patients taking 2 or more ET medications had a higher pharmacotherapy burden.
- Older patients had a higher prevalence of comorbidities.
- Statistical testing was not performed, leading to potential underestimation of differences.
- Results may not apply to uninsured individuals.
Takeaway
People with essential tremor spend more on healthcare and take more medications than those without it, especially if they take multiple medications.
Methodology
This was a retrospective cohort study using claims data from the Merative Market Scan Research Databases over a 5-year period.
Potential Biases
Potential biases due to the use of disease codes for identifying patients and the lack of verification for the intended use of prescriptions.
Limitations
The study is retrospective and may be affected by confounding factors; results may not be generalizable to uninsured populations.
Participant Demographics
The study included 22,641 commercial and 10,343 Medicare patients with essential tremor, with a mean age of 51.6 years for commercial patients and 75.7 years for Medicare patients.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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