Estimation of direct cost related to asthma among school-age children with asthma

Background Childhood asthma still imposes a substantial burden on the health care system and community. Its management requires a significant direct cost. Several factors can influence the cost of asthma management, particularly severe asthma. There is scant information about the predictors of asthma-related cost. Thus, the purpose of this study was to estimate direct asthma-related cost among children with chronic asthma and to identify factors that have the greatest contribution to change it. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out in Farhat Hached University Hospital in Sousse (Tunisia, Africa) over a period of three months (April-June 2018) among children with asthma aged 7-17 years. The direct cost was defined as the costs of health resources utilization and medication related to asthma in the past 12 months. Purchasing power parity technique was used to convert TND to USD. Multiple linear regression was performed to examine the association between dependent and independent variables. Results A total of 90 subjects participated in the study. The mean age was 9.81±2.56 and 55.6% were male. The annual mean of the total direct cost was USD 616.71±454. Multivariate analysis showed that the severity of asthma, inhalation technique and emotional domain of QOL predict asthma cost and that the latter was the best predictor (p = 0.005, p = 0.03, p = 0.004, respectively). This data indicates that for one child with mild asthma, correct inhaler technique, and moderate impairment of emotional function QOL domain, estimated asthma direct cost was equal to 1035.21 USD per 12 months. Conclusions This study showed that higher severity of asthma, incorrect inhaler technique and a lower score of emotional function increased direct cost related to asthma. These results are useful for health care providers and community since they provide information about the impact of modifiable risk factors on direct asthma cost. Key messages For one child with mild asthma, correct inhaler technique, and moderate impairment of emotional function QOL domain, estimated asthma direct cost was equal to 1035.21 USD per 12 months. Higher severity of asthma, incorrect inhaler technique and a lower score of emotional function increased direct cost related to asthma.