Counting all the costs: the economic impact of comorbidity
Please note: this is a legacy publication from CPEC (formely PSSRU at LSE).in Norman Sartorius, Richard I.G. Holt and Mario Maj (eds) Comorbidity of Mental and Physical Disorders ,
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview on what is known about the economic impacts of comorbid physical and mental disorders. The chapter begins by briefly describing the concept of economic cost, before going on to look at different examples of the costs of comorbidity. There is an increasing, albeit still small, number of studies that have looked at the economic impacts of comorbid physical and mental health problems. The majority of these examples are from a US context and thought must be given on how they translate to other contexts. Nonetheless, these studies illustrate potentially substantial costs to healthcare systems and society as a whole, which might be avoided through early identification of potential risk factors and early intervention to mitigate the effects of comorbidity. The chapter ends by examining how information on the costs of comorbidity can be used to inform economic arguments for investment in actions to prevent or alleviate some of these morbidities, and how this evidence base may be strengthened further.
This chapter provides an overview on what is known about the economic impacts of comorbid physical and mental disorders. The chapter begins by briefly describing the concept of economic cost, before going on to look at different examples of the costs of comorbidity. There is an increasing, albeit still small, number of studies that have looked at the economic impacts of comorbid physical and mental health problems. The majority of these examples are from a US context and thought must be given on how they translate to other contexts. Nonetheless, these studies illustrate potentially substantial costs to healthcare systems and society as a whole, which might be avoided through early identification of potential risk factors and early intervention to mitigate the effects of comorbidity. The chapter ends by examining how information on the costs of comorbidity can be used to inform economic arguments for investment in actions to prevent or alleviate some of these morbidities, and how this evidence base may be strengthened further.