Increase in prevalence and costs of cirrhosis in the Netherlands: a nationwide hospital diagnosis data analysis.

Introduction: Due to the rising incidence of patients with cirrhosis and its accompanied extensive management, there is an increasing burden of cirrhosis patients on healthcare resources and costs. However, exact data on Dutch cirrhosis epidemiology and associated costs are lacking.

Aims and methods: We aimed to determine the year-prevalence of adults (aged ≥18 years) with cirrhosis registered as active patients in Dutch hospitals (2017-2021) using the Dutch hospital claims database. Next, we assessed average reimbursed annual healthcare costs.

Results: The prevalence of patients with cirrhosis registered as an active patient in Dutch hospitals increased by 54% from 48.7 patients per 100 000 in 2017 to 75.2 per 100 000 in 2021. There were regional differences and prevalence for cirrhosis was at highest of 105.6 patients per 100 000. The yearly incidence of patients for which hospitals requested claims was n  = 3725 in 2018, n  = 3840 in 2019 (+3%), n  = 3749 in 2020 (-2%), and n  = 3695 in 2021 (-1%). Total number of hospital admissions increased by 19% from 2443 in 2017 to 2899 in 2021. The annual reported costs for patients with cirrhosis increased by 120% from €35 million in 2017 to €78 million in 2021. Adjusted for inflation this increase was 143% to €85 million.

Conclusion: The prevalence of patients with cirrhosis registered as a patient in Dutch hospitals increased by more than 50 percent from 2017 to 2021, with regional differences. Consequently, total healthcare costs for Dutch patients with cirrhosis more than doubled in less than 5 years.