Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
Forgotten costs of systemic lupus erythematosus: estimating indirect healthcare costs in a national prospective observational Canadian lupus cohort
Authors' conclusion
IDC in SLE, particularly resulting from unpaid labour, are substantial, especially in women, where they represent up to 64.2% of total IDC versus 36.2% in men.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with SLE from six centres, Canadian lupus cohort (90.5% female; mean age at diagnosis 33.2 years; mean SLE duration 14.7 years)
- Participants
- 2,180 patients6 centres
- Exposure
- Women vs men
- Outcome
- Annual indirect costs (IDC) due to lost productivity in paid/unpaid labour (absenteeism, presenteeism, opportunity costs), 2024 Canadian dollars, unpaid labour by OCM and RCM, stratified by sex
Methodological detailsmulticentre, national, observational, regression modelling adjusted for race/ethnicity, age, disease duration, education and Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) DI, Patients completed an average of 3.4 questionnaires
- Multicentre
- National
- Observational
- Regression modelling adjusted for race/ethnicity, age, disease duration, education and SLICC/ACR DI
- Patients completed an average of 3.4 questionnaires
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Total annual IDC
| Group | Value | Replacement cost method (RCM) |
|---|---|---|
| Women | $35 330 opportunity cost method (OCM) | $26 114 |
| Men | $32 016 OCM | $26 136 |
Value
Women$35 330 OCM
Men$32 016 OCM
Replacement cost method (RCM)
Women$26 114
Men$26 136
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Employed at baseline
| Outcome | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Annual unpaid labour costs | $22 680 OCM | $11 591 OCM |
| RCM | $13 465 | $5711 |
| Annual paid labour costs | $12 651 | $20 425 |
Annual unpaid labour costs
- Significantly higher among women; regressions showed similar results
Annual paid labour costs
- Significantly higher among men; regressions showed similar results
Original publication
Forgotten costs of systemic lupus erythematosus: estimating indirect healthcare costs in a national prospective observational Canadian lupus cohort. Lupus Sci Med. Published 27 April 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →