Chronic pain and health care spending: an analysis of longitudinal data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To estimate average incremental health care expenditures associated with chronic pain by health care service category, expanding on prior research that focused on specific pain conditions instead of general pain, excluded low levels of pain, or did not incorporate pain duration.

Data source

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data (2008-2011; N = 26,671).

Study design

Differences in annual expenditures for adults at different levels of pain that interferes with normal work, as measured by the SF-12, were estimated using recycled predictions from two-part logit-generalized linear regression models.

Principal findings

"A little bit" of chronic pain-related interference was associated with a $2,498 increase in total adjusted expenditures over no pain

SUBMITTER: Stockbridge EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4450933 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature