Journal Article

Cost of low back pain in Switzerland in 2005

Brügger, Urs, Ruckstuhl, Andreas, Tamcan, Özgür, Dietrich, Jürg, Wieser, Simon, Elfering, Achim, Horisberger, Bruno, Schmidhauser, Sara, Müller, Urs, Mannion, Anne F., Eisenring, Claudia

2011

Overview

Low back pain (LBP) is the most prevalent health problem in Switzerland and a leading cause of reduced work performance and disability. This study estimated the total cost of LBP in Switzerland in 2005 from a societal perspective using a bottom-up prevalence-based cost-of-illness approach. The study considers more cost categories than are typically investigated and includes the costs associated with a multitude of LBP sufferers who are not under medical care. The findings are based on a questionnaire completed by a sample of 2,507 German-speaking respondents, of whom 1,253 suffered from LBP in the last 4 weeks; 346 of them were receiving medical treatment for their LBP. Direct costs of LBP were estimated at €2.6 billion and direct medical costs at 6.1% of the total healthcare expenditure in Switzerland. Productivity losses were estimated at €4.1 billion with the human capital approach and €2.2 billion with the friction cost approach. Presenteeism was the single most prominent cost category. The total economic burden of LBP to Swiss society was between 1.6 and 2.3% of GDP.

• Publisher: Springer,Springer-Verlag,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: 2005 / Absenteeism / Activities of daily living / Adult / Back pain / Capital costs / Cost estimates / Cost of Illness / Costs and Cost Analysis / Diaries / Direct costs / Economic costs / Economic Policy / Female / Health care / Health care costs / Health care expenditures / Health Care Management / Health care policy / Health Economics / Health Expenditures - statistics & numerical data / Health insurance / Human capital / Humans / Illnesses / Insurance companies / Krankheit / Low back pain / Low Back Pain - economics / Low Back Pain - physiopathology / Low Back Pain - therapy / Male / Medical treatment / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Middle Aged / Original Paper / Pharmacoeconomics and Health Outcomes / Polls & surveys / Presenteeism / Prevention / Productivity / Public Finance / Public Health / Questionnaires / R&D / Research & development / Rückenschmerzen / Schweiz / Soziale Kosten / Studies / Surgery / Surveys and Questionnaires / Switzerland / Total costs / Young Adult