The economic burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among high-risk adults is substantial, suggesting the need to identify preventive interventions to reduce the effects of severe RSV disease. These findings were published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Cost-of-illness modeling studies may help estimate the economic- and health-related burden of RSV across different populations. Data captured in these studies may also be used to update recommendations related to immunization practices and reduce the effects of severe RSV disease.
In this study, researchers aimed to estimate the economic burden of RSV disease among high-risk adults in the United States. They evaluated the economic burden of RSV among several populations, including those aged 60 years and older, hospitalized adults aged 50 to 59 years, and hospitalized adults aged 18 to 49 years.
Approximately 4 million (95% uncertainty interval, 2.7-5.6 million) adults aged 60 years and older were estimated to be diagnosed with RSV infection each year, contributing to an economic burden of $6.6 billion. Overall, 18% and 39% of the annual economic burden of RSV was indirectly attributed to costs related to morbidity and mortality, respectively.
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An RSV vaccine would be able to prevent or mitigate the effects of severe disease and its subsequent complications in high-risk populations.
Direct medical costs were highest for adults aged 80 years and older, whereas indirect costs were highest for those aged 60 to 64 years. Overall, the indirect economic burden was highest among adults aged 60 to 64 years, followed by those aged 65 to 69 years ($97,800 and $79,600 per 1000 people, respectively).
Although the annual rate of RSV hospitalizations was 4%, hospitalizations accounted for 94% of direct medical costs overall. Emergency department (ED) admissions and treatment in outpatient settings comprised the remaining portion of direct medical costs ($179 million).
In regard to indirect costs, RSV-related morbidity was associated with 7.9 million days of lost productivity and an annual economic burden of $1.1 billion. Indirect costs of RSV were primarily attributed to hospitalizations (38%), followed by nonmedically attended diagnoses (31%), outpatient care (27%), and ED admissions (4%).
The estimated number of annual RSV hospitalizations among adults aged 50 to 59 years was 20,800, representing a total annual economic burden of $1.1 billion. For adults aged 18 to 49 years with potential RSV risk factors, the highest estimated number of annual RSV hospitalizations was 5620, with a total economic burden of $358 million.
Further analysis showed that the estimated number of RSV hospitalizations in adults aged 18 to 49 years ranged between 170 and 5620 among those with coronary artery disease and those with obesity, respectively. Moreover, the annual economic burden of RSV for patients in this age group was highest for those with obesity ($358 million).
Diabetes and asthma — the most common RSV risk factors — accounted for $282 million and $216 million, respectively, of the total economic burden for this age group.
Study limitations include the use of incidence and severity data from a single surveillance study. Other limitations include potential underestimation of the true economic burden of RSV due to the use of Medicare data, the lack of data on long-term care complications, and the lack of data from immunocompromised individuals.
According to the researchers, “An RSV vaccine would be able to prevent or mitigate the effects of severe disease and its subsequent complications in high-risk populations.”
Disclosure: This research was supported by Moderna, Inc, and multiple study authors declared affiliations with industry. Please see the original reference for a full list of disclosures.
This article originally appeared on Infectious Disease Advisor
