Economic Burden of Commercially Insured Patients with Major Depressive Disorder and Acute Suicidal Ideation or Behavior in the United States
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2022
Researchers from Analysis Group and the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson have authored the first study to describe the economic burden of MDSI, or diagnosed major depressive disorder (MDD) with acute suicidal ideation or behavior (SIB). The findings show that MDSI is associated with significant economic burden and substantial incremental costs per patient per month (PPPM) compared to those without MDSI.
To better understand unmet needs and help inform patient care, the research team – including Analysis Group Managing Principals Paul Greenberg and Patrick Lefebvre, Vice President Dominic Pilon, and Managers Masha Zhdanava, Carmine Rossi, and Laura Morrison – studied health care resource utilization (HRU) and costs accrued by commercially insured adult employees and family beneficiaries with MDSI versus those accrued by a control cohort comprising those without MDD or SIB.MDSI was associated with incremental health care costs of $7,839 PPPM, with inpatient and emergency department costs comprising 71% and 17% of the total incremental costs, in the first month after an SIB event. The researchers also found that, in the 12 months preceding an SIB event, there was no evidence of antidepressant use in over 40% of patients, and nearly two-thirds were not receiving psychotherapy. This treatment gap was also evident in the 12 months following the SIB event, during which nearly one-quarter of patients were not taking an antidepressant and almost half went without psychotherapy.
Given the emerging evidence of negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological health, the study underscores the need for strategies to identify and treat at-risk patients for whom personalized pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies may prevent a crisis. The study, titled “Economic Burden of Commercially Insured Patients with Major Depressive Disorder and Acute Suicidal Ideation or Behavior in the United States,” was published by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Authors
Pilon D, Neslusan C, Zhdanava M, Sheehan J, Joshi K, Morrison L, Rossi C, Lefebvre P, Greenberg P