RSV in people over 60 years of age costs 285 million a year

The 840,470 episodes of acute respiratory infection that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) would cause in people of 60 and over years In Spain they would represent an annual economic burden of around 285 million euros, according to the study Modeling the complete annual economic burden of respiratory syncytial virus in adults over 60 years of age in Spainpresented during the last National Congress of the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG).

RSV is a common and seasonal respiratory virus that can affect people of all ages, although with special incidence in infants and older adultsthese being the ones who present a high risk of suffering serious complications associated with the infection as a consequence of the age-related decrease in immunity. Furthermore, in people with chronic diseasessuch as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma or heart failure, among others, this virus can cause exacerbations of its pathology and cause other serious complications.

For this reason, the authors of the study highlight the value of the documentwhich has estimated the cost of an RSV season in adults from 60 years in Spain, both from a social perspective and for the National Health System (SNS). Likewise, they show that many of the previous studies have focused the burden of RSV disease only on hospitalizations; while this work also takes into account, all levels of care of the health system and social impacts due to loss of productivity.

“This study provides a first approximation of the direct costs of health resources associated with cases of respiratory disease caused by RSV.such as visits to Primary Care, hospitalizations, use of antibiotics and admissions to the ICU; as well as other indirect costs, such as loss of productivity and that associated with premature deaths,” point out the authors of the study, which has been funded by GSK.

Thus, the authors indicate, “the main novelty of this study is that it analyzes for the first time the economic impact of VRS, especially the indirect costs, which mainly affect the group of 60 to 69 years. It has been shown that RSV increases with age and can cause temporary work incapacity, lower productivity and, in severe cases, premature mortality, which interrupts active working life. These costs are associated with loss of productivity due to illness or premature death. Therefore, it is key to address RSV not only from a clinical perspective, but also from an economic and social perspective, expanding prevention to the entire population over 60 years of age, with a focus on the most vulnerable patients.”.

According to the analysis data, the VRS would be responsible each year for 261,000 visits to Primary Care and 21,000 antibiotic prescriptionsin addition to 50,000 hospitalizations and 8,000 income in ICU in Spain. VRS would lead to 39,000 annual episodes of complications such as pneumonia, asthma or COPD exacerbation, heart failure or diabetic decompensation. All of this generates annual health costs of around 220 million euros, mainly derived from hospitalizations.

Loss of productivity

The work also details the impact of social burden that RSV would entail in this population and shows that the indirect costs, derived from the loss of productivity due to episodes of respiratory infection, amount to approximately 65 million euros each year. Most of the indirect burden of RSV falls on the population aged 60 to 69 years.

“This study highlights the importance of indirect costs, the loss of productivity not only due to the situation of incapacity for work, but also the loss of productivity due to mortality,” he indicates. Isabel Jimenohead of the SEMG Vaccine Group and co-author of the report.

According to the associate head of the Pulmonology Service at the Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital in Madrid and one of the authors of the study, Felipe Villarthe results show that, from the 65 yearsabove all between 75 and 79 years oldthe direct health and economic impact is greater. This age group of patients, along with immunosuppressed patients and those with comorbidities, such as chronic respiratory diseases, “are those who accumulate a greater burden of disease and costs to the health system,” says Villar.

Along these lines and given that RSV infection is underdiagnosed and represents a significant economic and social burden for public health, the specialist insists on the urgent need to strengthen surveillance and diagnosis systemsas well as establishing preventive programs and strategies aimed at the adult population. “This need is especially critical in patients with chronic respiratory diseases,” he recalls. Villar.

“We must give VRS the importance it has because it is increasingly present. There is a need to make this respiratory disease visible through more studies and the possibility of diagnoses in Primary Care,” says Jimeno.

For its part, Mercedes Fernandez de Castrodirector of the Vaccines area at GSK Spain, highlights the company’s commitment to prevention, through innovation and research. “At GSK we work to get ahead of the disease and try to positively impact the health of millions of people. Studies like this one, which allow us to have a greater understanding of the burden of a disease like RSV, can contribute to establishing appropriate preventive strategies aimed at the population most vulnerable to this infection.”