OBJECTIVES

To assess the health care resource use (HCRU) and economic burden of skin symptoms in Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) patients

METHODS

This cross-sectional, non-interventional survey included real-world PsA patients diagnosed by rheumatologists or dermatologists from the U.S. and Europe. Data were collected during Q1 2014 and Q4 2015. Patients were stratified by skin involvement: no active and current active skin, and then by severity of skin symptoms: none-mild, and moderate-severe. PsA-related HCRU (physician consultations, lab/imaging tests, hospitalizations) was assessed during the prior 12 months, and country-specific unit costs were applied. Costs were compared between propensity score matched patients with no active vs current active skin (n= 531 each), and between patients with none-mild vs moderate-severe skin symptoms (n= 919 each). Patient reported outcomes included EQ-5D, and WPAI

RESULTS

: Of 2,670 PsA patients, 531 had no current active skin, 2,139 had active skin and joint symptoms, comprising 1,747 with none-mild, and 919 with moderate-severe skin symptoms. Compared to patients without active skin symptoms, patients with active skin symptoms had numerically higher total direct medical costs including 49.1% higher hospitalization costs (€2098 vs €1407), 33.1% higher dermatologist costs (€125.7 vs €94.5), and 13.4% higher General Practitioner (GP) costs (€94.8 vs €83.6). Compared to patients with none-mild skin, patients with moderate-severe skin symptoms had numerically higher total direct medical costs including 68.0% higher hospitalization costs (€2361 vs €1405), 56.5% higher dermatologist costs(€157.8 vs €100.8), 3.3% higher GP costs (€99.2 vs €96.0), and 8.7% higher total test costs (€214.3 vs €197.1). As skin severity increased, PsA patients reported worse quality of life (EQ5D VAS: no/mild skin 74.2 vs mod/sev 65.0), and greater impairment in work productivity (WPAI: no/mild skin 17.5 vs mod/sev 31.5)

CONCLUSIONS

: The presence and worsening of skin symptoms contribute to the economic burden of PsA and deterioration in patient reported outcomes