OBJECTIVES: Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is among the most common neurodegenerative disorders and is related to severe disabilities. Few studies have estimated the economic impact of PD in a real-world setting. Moreover, the estimates vary widely due to differences in population and definition of PD used. The objective of this project is to analyze in a real-world setting, health care resource utilization (HCRU) of patients with a diagnosis of PD in Quebec, Canada.

METHODS: From the Régie de l’Assurance Maladie du Québec (RAMQ) database, a sample of PD patients was selected if they had a diagnosis of PD (ICD-9 code 332.0 or ICD-10 code G20.x) and a PD medication (levodopa, dopamine agonist, catechol-o-methyl transferase inhibitor, monoamine-oxidase-B inhibitor and/or anticholinergic drug) at least once. Patients were matched by age group and sex to controls. RAMQ data were available for the period from January 2010 to December 2018. Annualized HCRU and costs (2021 adjusted) for all-cause of hospitalization, emergency department (ED) visits, outpatient visits and medication were calculated for PD patients and for the control group of non-PD patients.

RESULTS: A total of 1,212 patients were included in the analysis. Average age was 74.3 years and 56.8% were male. The average yearly total HCRU cost per patient was 2.7 times higher in PD patients than in the age-and-sex matched control group without PD (CAN$17,405 [SD=22,369] vs. CAN$6,431 [SD=8,189], p<0.01). The difference in total cost was mainly due to higher inpatient cost (CAN$12,171 vs. CAN$3,388). Moreover, PD patients had more outpatient (9.3 [SD=8.3] vs. 6.9 [SD=6.6], p<0.01), and ED (1.7 [SD=2.3] vs. 0.8 [SD=1.2], p<0.01) visits than the matched control group.

CONCLUSIONS: PD patients have a high burden of HCRU and cost compared to individuals without PD with the same age and sex, with inpatient cost as the major factor for the difference.