The Indirect Costs of Diabetic Foot Ulcers in Poland

Aim: The purpose of this study was to estimate the productivity loss and indirect costs associated with foot ulcers in patients with diabetic foot syndrome (DFS). An additional goal was to estimate the productivity loss and indirect costs in the population of informal caregivers of patients with DFS. Methods: Based on a prospective survey the effects of ulcers on patients’ professional activities were measured, and in addition, the disease-associated loss of productivity in the population of professionally active patients and caregivers was examined. Loss of productivity was measured using a modified WPAI questionnaire. The indirect costs of both absenteeism and presenteeism were estimated using the human capital approach. Results: Mean absenteeism was estimated at 32.63% of the nominal working time, whereas presenteeism was estimated at 23.48% of real working time. Among informal caregivers, mean absenteeism was estimated at 13.67% of the nominal working time, and presenteeism was estimated at 27.21% of real working time. Total annual indirect costs associated with productivity loss in the patient population amounted to EUR 170.8 million, including EUR 117.3 million in costs for sickness absences and EUR 53.5 million in presenteeism costs. Total annual indirect costs associated with productivity loss in the population of informal caregivers amounted to EUR 303.3 million, including EUR 80.8 million in costs for sickness absence and EUR 222.6 million in presenteeism costs. Conclusions: The indirect costs associated with foot ulcers in patients with DFS impose a substantial burden on the Polish economy. The Indirect Costs of Diabetic Foot Ulcers in Poland Tomasz Macioch1*, Urszula Zalewska1, Elżbieta Sobol2, Beata Mrozikiewicz-Rakowska3, Arkadiusz Krakowiecki3 and Tomasz Hermanowski1 1Department of Pharmacoeconomics, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland 2Medical University of Warsaw Central Clinical Hospital, Poland 3Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland *Corresponding author: Tomasz Macioch, Aleja Lip 1 05-092 Łomianki, Poland, Tel: +48 600 433 924; Fax: +48 22 57 20 855; E-mail: [email protected] Received March 31, 2015; Accepted April 21, 2015; Published April 28, 2015 Citation: Macioch T, Zalewska U, Sobol E, Rakowska BM, Krakowiecki A, et al. (2015) The Indirect Costs of Diabetic Foot Ulcers in Poland. J Diabetes Metab 6: 540. doi:10.4172/2155-6156.1000540 Copyright: © 2015 Macioch T, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.