The economic burden may be higher than previously understood among U.S. patients with vitiligo, according to a recent report published by Ezzedine et al in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. In a retrospective study, investigators used the Merative MarketScan Commercial Database to analyze health-care costs and resource utilization among 49,512 patients with vitiligo and 99,024 matched controls between 2007 and 2021—with the goal of better understanding the direct costs associated with the disease. Compared with controls, patients with vitiligo incurred higher all-cause costs ($15,551 vs $7,735) and vitiligo-related costs ($3,490 vs $54). The utilization of health-care resources was also significantly greater among patients with vitiligo compared with controls. Additionally, patients with vitiligo who received therapy—including phototherapy and oral steroids—that caused systemic effects or new mental health diagnoses were at risk of incurring higher health-care costs vs controls. In a companion press release on the findings from Elsevier, publisher of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the study authors concluded: “These findings reveal an unmet need for cost-effective treatments and highlight the importance of fully identifying the drivers of economic burden for patients with vitiligo.”
February 21, 2024