The Cost of Allergic Rhinitis
The cost of Allergic Rhinitis is high: a patient expenses are more than 1.700 euros per year, more expensive than other diseases considered to be more severe, as smoker’s chronic bronchitis or asthma.
Direct and Indirect Costs
The cost of allergic rhinitis attributed to the drug expenses and medical attention is almost 600€ per year (584€)
Indirect costs are even higher: 1.125 euros a year. The reduction in work productivity and sick leave are the main wages.
During the symptom season the absenteeism and the impact on productivity gets closer to 30%, even more in those patients suffering moderate or sever rhinitis and especially if the symptoms are persistent all through the year, as house dust mite allergies are.
The quality of life of the patient is also disminished and the quality adjusted year lives drop to 0,81 (0,85 in the general population). This data is useful to know the long term repercusion of diseases with no mortality.
Precursor research in the World
The Allergy Spanish Society performed the first world study to know the costs associated to allergic rhinitis: the Ferin Study (Rhinitis Pharmacoeconomics).
The Rhinoconjunctivitis Comittee started this study to fully look into the costs of the allergic rhinitis in Spain. During a whole year 70 Allergy departments and 500 patients enrolled in this work.
A very commmon disease… and growing
Hay fever or allergic rhinitis is the commonest allergic disease: almost 9 million spaniards (21% general population) suffer it.
It means more than half of the visits to the allergy specialists and it causes a high quality of life impact in the patients.
