Chemotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Chemotherapy, including details on cancer treatment, side effects, drugs. | ||||||||
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The economic burden of HIV in the United States in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy: evidence of continuing racial and ethnic differences.Hutchinson AB, Farnham PG, Dean HD, Ekwueme DU, del Rio C, Kamimoto L, Kellerman SE Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. ahutchinson@cdc.gov BACKGROUND: Assessing the economic burden of HIV/AIDS can help to quantify the effect of the epidemic on a population and assist policy makers in allocating public health resources. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the economic burden of HIV/AIDS in the United States and provide race/ethnicity-specific estimates. METHODS: We conducted an incidence-based cost-of-illness analysis to estimate the lifetime cost of HIV/AIDS resulting from new infections diagnosed in 2002. Data from the HIV/AIDS Reporting System of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used to determine stage of disease at diagnosis and proportion of cases by race/ethnicity. Lifetime direct medical costs and mortality-related productivity losses were estimated using data on cost, life expectancy, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) use from the literature. RESULTS: The cost of new HIV infections in the United States in 2002 is estimated at $36.4 billion, including $6.7 billion in direct medical costs and $29.7 billion in productivity losses. Direct medical costs per case were highest for whites ($180,900) and lowest for blacks ($160,400). Productivity losses per case were lowest for whites ($661,100) and highest for Hispanics ($838,000). In a sensitivity analysis, universal use of ART and more effective ART regimens decreased the overall cost of illness. CONCLUSION: Direct medical costs and productivity losses of HIV/AIDS resulting from infections diagnosed in 2002 are substantial. Productivity losses far surpass direct medical costs and are disproportionately borne by minority races/ethnicities. Our analysis underscores economic benefits of more effective ART regimens and universal access to ART. Published 13 November 2006 in J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 43(4): 451-7.
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