Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a chronic autoimmune skin disease characterized by recurrent wheals and/or angioedema lasting more than six weeks. Although CSU imposes significant economic and clinical burden, its overall impact is underestimated, and evidence from Gulf countries remains scarce. This study aimed at estimating the clinical, economic, and humanistic burden of CSU across the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
METHODS: A country-level burden-of-disease (BOD) model was developed to estimate societal economic and humanistic impact of CSU. The model incorporated epidemiology, treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and cost inputs from published literature and validated by regional experts. Patients were stratified by therapy line. The model estimated annual burden (diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and complications, adverse event management and productivity losses). Disability‑Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were estimated using mean utility score of a CSU patient from literature, mapped to regional EQ-5D tariffs. For gulf countries with no published value sets, KSA EQ-5D tariffs were used.
RESULTS: The total number of prevalent CSU patients across the Gulf region was 179,392 (UAE: 77,190, Oman: 36,913, Kuwait: 33,634, Qatar: 20,660, and Bahrain: 10,995). Moderate-to-severe CSU accounted for 74% of diagnosed and treated patients(n=73,197). The total economic burden was estimated at USD 985.9 million, comprising USD 327.1 million (UAE), USD 284.5 million (Kuwait), USD 204.4 million (Oman), USD 131.9 million (Qatar), and USD 38.0 million (Bahrain), driven primarily by productivity losses (USD 701.4 million) due to absenteeism and presenteeism associated with the angioedema and urticaria episodes. The total DALYs associated with CSU are estimated to be 11,889 across the gulf.
CONCLUSIONS: CSU imposes substantial and underrecognized burden across Gulf countries, largely driven by impaired work productivity associated with poor disease control. These findings highlight the need for optimized care pathways, improved access to effective therapies, and targeted policy interventions to improve resource allocation and patient outcomes.