Julien Ringuet, Grace K Wong, Véronique Baribeau, Sunil Kalia, Josée Brisebois, Jean Lachaine
{"title":"Burden of Vitiligo in Canada: Retrospective Analysis of a Canadian Public Claims Database.","authors":"Julien Ringuet, Grace K Wong, Véronique Baribeau, Sunil Kalia, Josée Brisebois, Jean Lachaine","doi":"10.1177/12034754241304683","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease resulting in skin depigmentation. Treatment options are limited.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To examine disease burden and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) among patients with vitiligo in Québec, Canada.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this retrospective study, data were obtained from the Régie de l'Assurance Maladie du Québec (RAMQ) databases for 125,000 random individuals from January 2010 to December 2019. The <i>International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision</i> (<i>ICD-9</i>) diagnostic code [709.x (other skin disorders)] with vitiligo-related treatment was used to identify patients with vitiligo. Patient characteristics and treatments, including treatment type, episodes (treatments used without discontinuation), and sequences (treatment episodes ≥30 days), were assessed. Annualized HCRU and costs (2021 adjusted) included all-cause hospitalization, emergency department visits, outpatient visits, and medications among patients with vitiligo (n = 113) and age- and sex-matched non-vitiligo controls (n = 339).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of patients with vitiligo (mean age, 50.0 years; 68.1% female) identified using <i>ICD-9</i> code 709.x with vitiligo-related treatment, 36.3% received ≥4 treatment episodes. Treatment patterns were heterogeneous, with 43 different sequences reported. Annualized mean outpatient visits (16.1 vs 5.5) and all-cause outpatient service costs per patient were significantly higher in the vitiligo versus the control group (CAN$1037 vs CAN$523; <i>P</i> < .01). Total all-cause services costs were higher for patients with vitiligo in the year after versus before diagnosis (CAN$3679 vs CAN$2085; <i>P</i> = .04).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Vitiligo is associated with significant burden and HCRU among patients in Québec, Canada, who were identified by <i>ICD-9</i> code 709.x plus vitiligo-related treatment. Measurement of true vitiligo burden remains challenging.</p>","PeriodicalId":15403,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery","volume":" ","pages":"234-242"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12171071/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/12034754241304683","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/22 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"DERMATOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease resulting in skin depigmentation. Treatment options are limited.
Objectives: To examine disease burden and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) among patients with vitiligo in Québec, Canada.
Methods: In this retrospective study, data were obtained from the Régie de l'Assurance Maladie du Québec (RAMQ) databases for 125,000 random individuals from January 2010 to December 2019. The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnostic code [709.x (other skin disorders)] with vitiligo-related treatment was used to identify patients with vitiligo. Patient characteristics and treatments, including treatment type, episodes (treatments used without discontinuation), and sequences (treatment episodes ≥30 days), were assessed. Annualized HCRU and costs (2021 adjusted) included all-cause hospitalization, emergency department visits, outpatient visits, and medications among patients with vitiligo (n = 113) and age- and sex-matched non-vitiligo controls (n = 339).
Results: Of patients with vitiligo (mean age, 50.0 years; 68.1% female) identified using ICD-9 code 709.x with vitiligo-related treatment, 36.3% received ≥4 treatment episodes. Treatment patterns were heterogeneous, with 43 different sequences reported. Annualized mean outpatient visits (16.1 vs 5.5) and all-cause outpatient service costs per patient were significantly higher in the vitiligo versus the control group (CAN$1037 vs CAN$523; P < .01). Total all-cause services costs were higher for patients with vitiligo in the year after versus before diagnosis (CAN$3679 vs CAN$2085; P = .04).
Conclusions: Vitiligo is associated with significant burden and HCRU among patients in Québec, Canada, who were identified by ICD-9 code 709.x plus vitiligo-related treatment. Measurement of true vitiligo burden remains challenging.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery (JCMS) aims to reflect the state of the art in cutaneous biology and dermatology by providing original scientific writings, as well as a complete critical review of the dermatology literature for clinicians, trainees, and academicians. JCMS endeavours to bring readers cutting edge dermatologic information in two distinct formats. Part of each issue features scholarly research and articles on issues of basic and applied science, insightful case reports, comprehensive continuing medical education, and in depth reviews, all of which provide theoretical framework for practitioners to make sound practical decisions. The evolving field of dermatology is highlighted through these articles. In addition, part of each issue is dedicated to making the most important developments in dermatology easily accessible to the clinician by presenting well-chosen, well-written, and highly organized information in a format that is interesting, clearly presented, and useful to patient care.