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The economic burden of major adult visual disorders in the United States.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Rein, DB; Zhang, P; Wirth, KE; Lee, PP; Hoerger, TJ; McCall, N; Klein, R; Tielsch, JM; Vijan, S; Saaddine, J
Published in: Arch Ophthalmol
December 2006

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the societal economic burden and the governmental budgetary impact of the following visual disorders among US adults aged 40 years and older: visual impairment, blindness, refractive error, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and primary open-angle glaucoma. DESIGN: We estimated 3 components of economic burden: direct medical costs, other direct costs, and productivity losses. We used private insurance and Medicare claims data to estimate direct medical costs; epidemiologic evidence from multiple published sources to estimate other direct costs, such as nursing home costs; and data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to estimate productivity losses. We used budgetary documents and our direct medical and other direct cost estimates to approximate the governmental budgetary impact. RESULTS: We estimated that the annual total financial burden of major adult visual disorders is $35.4 billion ($16.2 billion in direct medical costs, $11.1 billion in other direct costs, and $8 billion in productivity losses) and that the annual governmental budgetary impact is $13.7 billion. CONCLUSIONS: Major visual disorders among Americans older than 40 years result in substantial economic costs for the US economy. Well-designed public health programs may have the ability to reduce this burden in the future.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Arch Ophthalmol

DOI

ISSN

0003-9950

Publication Date

December 2006

Volume

124

Issue

12

Start / End Page

1754 / 1760

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Visually Impaired Persons
  • Vision Disorders
  • United States
  • Outpatients
  • Ophthalmology & Optometry
  • Middle Aged
  • Medicare
  • Managed Care Programs
  • Male
  • Insurance, Health, Reimbursement
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Rein, D. B., Zhang, P., Wirth, K. E., Lee, P. P., Hoerger, T. J., McCall, N., … Saaddine, J. (2006). The economic burden of major adult visual disorders in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol, 124(12), 1754–1760. https://doi.org/10.1001/archopht.124.12.1754
Rein, David B., Ping Zhang, Kathleen E. Wirth, Paul P. Lee, Thomas J. Hoerger, Nancy McCall, Ronald Klein, James M. Tielsch, Sandeep Vijan, and Jinan Saaddine. “The economic burden of major adult visual disorders in the United States.Arch Ophthalmol 124, no. 12 (December 2006): 1754–60. https://doi.org/10.1001/archopht.124.12.1754.
Rein DB, Zhang P, Wirth KE, Lee PP, Hoerger TJ, McCall N, et al. The economic burden of major adult visual disorders in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2006 Dec;124(12):1754–60.
Rein, David B., et al. “The economic burden of major adult visual disorders in the United States.Arch Ophthalmol, vol. 124, no. 12, Dec. 2006, pp. 1754–60. Pubmed, doi:10.1001/archopht.124.12.1754.
Rein DB, Zhang P, Wirth KE, Lee PP, Hoerger TJ, McCall N, Klein R, Tielsch JM, Vijan S, Saaddine J. The economic burden of major adult visual disorders in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol. 2006 Dec;124(12):1754–1760.

Published In

Arch Ophthalmol

DOI

ISSN

0003-9950

Publication Date

December 2006

Volume

124

Issue

12

Start / End Page

1754 / 1760

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Visually Impaired Persons
  • Vision Disorders
  • United States
  • Outpatients
  • Ophthalmology & Optometry
  • Middle Aged
  • Medicare
  • Managed Care Programs
  • Male
  • Insurance, Health, Reimbursement