The direct and indirect costs of epilepsy in Poland estimates for 2014-2016 years

Background: According to the current data, around 1% of the Poland population have epilepsy, which comprises about 400,000 people. This group of patients requires life-long therapy including both drug therapy and hospitalization. The character of the epilepsy has a significant impact on the expenses borne by individual patients, and the prevalence of the disease has a significant impact on the health care system.

Methods: This article aims to measure the direct and indirect costs of epilepsy in Poland estimates for the years 2014-2016 (top-down approach). We use a modified human capital approach and a unique dataset provided by the number of Polish institutions including National Health Fund, Social Insurance Institution, and Central Statistical Office.

Results: Epilepsy burden in Poland is significant. In the years 2014-2016, the total direct cost of epilepsy amounted to, respectively, 355 mln PLN (84 mln EUR), 368 mln PLN (87 mln EUR), and 373 mln PLN (88 mln EUR), but the total indirect cost amounted to 1 bn PLN (239 mln EUR), 949 mln PLN (224 mln EUR), and 848 mln PLN (200 mln EUR).

Conclusions: Direct and indirect costs of epilepsy can be a useful input for health technology analyses of drugs or economic impact assessments of public health programs.