Giant cell arteritis diagnosis tied to increased healthcare costs

People diagnosed with giant cell arteritis (GCA) tend to have higher healthcare expenses during all three phases of care, according to a study conducted in Ontario, Canada.

Investigators carried out this population-based study using health administrative data and identified patients (aged ≥66 years) newly diagnosed with GCA between 2002 and 2017 using a validated algorithm. They then matched these participants 1:6 to comparators using propensity scores. Follow-up data were collected until participant’s death, outmigration, or 31 March 2020.

Costs associated with care in these patients were established across three phases, namely (1) the year before GCA diagnosis, (2) the year after, and (3) ongoing costs thereafter in 2021 Canadian dollars (CAD).

A total of 6,730 patients with a diagnosis of GCA were matched to 40,380 non-GCA comparators. Their mean age was 77 years, and the majority were female (68.2 percent).

A GCA diagnosis resulted in an increased cost of CAD 6,619.4 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 5,964.9‒7,272.0) per patient during the 1-year prediagnostic period, CAD 12,150.2 (95 percent CI, 11,233.1‒13,067.6) per patient in the 1-year postdiagnostic phase, and CAD 20,886.2 (95 percent CI, 17,195.2‒24,577.2) per patient during ongoing care for year 3 onward.

The main drivers of the increased costs were inpatient hospitalizations, physician services, hospital outpatient clinic services, and emergency department visits.

“Given the substantial economic burden, strategies to reduce the healthcare utilization and costs associated with GCA are warranted,” the investigators said.