Self-reported non-communicable health conditions

1. Key messages

2. Cost of self-reported non-communicable health conditions

Musculoskeletal disorders have the highest economic burden

From all the self-reported health conditions included in the analysis for 2018 back pain had by far the highest total medical costs, followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and angina pectoris (chest pain or discomfort that can be a symptom of coronary heart disease).

Musculoskeletal disorders are common and are associated with moderately high medical expenses

Back pain and neck pain are quite common (right side of the graph), and they are connected to moderately high medical expenses per person. These conditions therefore contribute substantially to healthcare costs, as indicated by their large bubble. Cardiovascular diseases are less common (left side of the graph), but they are associated with high medical costs per person (upper side of the graph). The high total medical costs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and depression seems to be the result of moderate to high costs and a moderate number of cases.

Total medical costs were lower in 2018 compared to 2013, except for eye diseases

Back pain ranked the highest in terms of the total attributable costs in both 2013 and 2018. There seems to be a downward trend in total medical costs for all diseases except eye disorders, particularly glaucoma (a group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness). It should be noted that the number of people with eye disorders in the HISlink samples are relatively low. This means that it can be difficult to estimate costs and that there is a lot of uncertainty around these estimates.

3. Read more

Discover the study protocol

Background

Data source

The data source for this analysis is the Health Interview Survey Data linked with Health Insurance Data (HISLink [1, 2]). In the Health Interview Survey, people are asked about possible health conditions that they may have. The Intermutualistic Agency (IMA) gathers information on direct healthcare costs, compiling the healthcare expenses from all public health insurances in Belgium. The HISlink data source therefore contains information both about people’s healthcare expenses, and their health conditions.

How we calculate medical costs of self-reported health conditions

We estimate the incremental or additional costs attributable to each of the self-reported health conditions. We adjust the costs based on factors like age, gender, reimbursement status (which gives us an idea of income or disability), and the region where a person lives. These factors can affect the chances of getting sick or having higher healthcare costs. Therefore, when we make these adjustments, we are essentially taking out the influence of things like age or gender. This helps us get a clearer picture of how much a particular disease alone is impacting the costs.

Definitions

Self-reported health conditions

In the Health Interview Survey [3] people are asked about possible health conditions that they may have. They are asked: “During the past 12 months, have you had any of the following diseases or conditions?”, followed by a list of selected diseases or conditions such as asthma, or chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema. We use information on 16 self-reported health conditions from the Health Interview Survey.

Medical costs

In this analysis, medical costs are defined as direct healthcare costs. Direct healthcare costs encompass all the expenses associated with hospitalizations, outpatient visits, and medication use. Long-term care and psychiatric care are generally not part of the analysis, unless expenses are reimbursed by the compulsory health insurance. These costs can be covered directly by compulsory health insurance, reimbursed to patients after they have paid, or paid out-of-pocket.

References

1. Berete F, Charafeddine R, Demarest S, Van der Heyden J (2021), HISLink - Linkage of Health Interview Survey Data with Health Insurance Data 2018, Sciensano,https://www.sciensano.be/en/projects/linkage-health-interview-survey-data-health-insurance-data 
2. Berete F, Charafeddine R, Demarest S, Van der Heyden J (2019), HISLink - Linkage of Health Interview Survey Data with Health Insurance Data 2013, Sciensano,https://www.sciensano.be/en/projects/linkage-health-interview-survey-data-health-insurance-data
3. Health Interview Survey, Sciensano. https://www.sciensano.be/en/projects/health-interview-survey

Please cite this page as: Sciensano. Cost of illness: self-reported non-communicable health conditions, Health Status Report, 22 Apr 2024, Brussels, Belgium, https://www.healthybelgium.be/en/health-status/cost-of-illness/self-reported-non-communicable-health-conditions