Epidemiology and costs of depressive disorder in Spain: the EPICO study

Depressive Disorders are the most common psychiatric diagnoses in the general population. To estimate the frequency, costs associated with Depressive Disorders in usual clinical practice, and in the whole Spanish population, a longitudinal, retrospective, observational study was carried out using data from the BIG-PAC database (R). Study population: all patients aged >= 18 years with a diagnosis of a Depressive Disorder in 2015-2017. Prevalence was computed as the proportion of Depressive Disorder cases in the adult general population, and the incidence rate, as the number of new Depressive Disorder cases diagnosed per 1,000 person-years in the population using health services, during 2015-2017. We collected demographic variables, comorbidity, direct health costs, and indirect costs (temporary and permanent disability). Health costs related to Depressive Disorders were estimated according to the annual resource use rate (resource/patient/year). Indirect costs were calculated according to the human capital method. Using the study data and information from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics, we estimated the cost of Depressive Disorders corresponding to the Spanish adult population, including premature mortality. 69,217 Depressive Disorder patients aged >= 18 years who met the inclusion/exclusion criteria were studied (mean age: 56.8 years; female: 71.4%). Prevalence of Depressive Disorders in the general population was 4.73% (95% CI: 4.70- 4.76%). Annual incidence rates (2015-2017) were 7.12, 7.35 and 8.02 per 1,000 person-years, respectively. Total costs observed in our Depressive Disorder patients were euro 223.9 million (corresponding to a mean of euro 3,235.3; mean/patient/year), of which, 18.4% were direct health care costs and 81.6%, non-health indirect costs (18% temporary occupational disability, 63.6% permanent disability). Considering also the cost of premature death , the mean cost per patient/year was euro 3,402 and the estimated societal costs of Depressive Disorders in Spain were euro 6,145 million. The prevalence and incidence of Depressive Disorders are consistent with other series reviewed. Resource use and total costs (especially non-health costs) were high. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Automated summary

Depressive Disorders are the most common psychiatric diagnoses in the general population. A longitudinal, retrospective, observational study was conducted to estimate the frequency and costs associated with Depressive Disorders in usual clinical practice and in the whole Spanish population. The study found that the prevalence of Depressive Disorders in the general population was approximately 4.73%, with annual incidence rates increasing slightly over the years. Total costs observed in Depressive Disorder patients were relatively high, mainly composed of non-health indirect costs.