OBJECTIVES: It is estimated that 861,886 people over 15 years of age would suffer from schizophrenia in Mexico, so this analysis aims to evaluate the indirect costs of relapse in schizophrenia.

METHODS: We calculated the indirect costs including loss of productivity costs and death related to a relapse in schizophrenia. Prevalence, relapses and hospitalization rates were used from international references supported by Mexican psychiatrists. Data sources were also from studies of similar characteristics carried out in the region. A sample obtained from clinical records of patients in two public institutes was used to validate the rates applied. The sources to measure the loss of productivity we used the international mortality table GAM 71 and the death registry, published by Mexican Statistics Institute. The productivity losses associated with a relapse were calculated as the difference in the employment rate of people who have recently experienced a relapse and people who have not relapsed using the Mexico's minimum wage. Number of working people with schizophrenia that have suffered a relapse was obtained from the difference of employment rate of people with schizophrenia (assumed to be 29.9%) excluding the difference between the employment rates of people with and without relapse (5.5%); so, the percentage of working people who suffered at least one relapse resulted to be 21%. Costs were calculated in 2017 USD (1 USD = 19 MXN).

RESULTS: In 2017, the value of productivity lost due to unemployment associated with a relapse in schizophrenia was estimated at 36.7 million. The cost of loss of productivity due to premature death among patients with relapse was 54.4 million in 2017. The costs for informal care were 24.9 million approximately in 2017.

CONCLUSIONS: In Mexico, approximately 180,996 had at least one episode of relapse during 2015, thus increasing the levels of physical and cognitive deterioration implicating productivity losses.