Non-mental health inpatient and emergency care hospital costs associated with four mental disorders in Europe: a modelling study

Background

The prevalence of physical health conditions is higher among people with mental disorders than the general population, and these conditions have subsequent excess costs. Estimating the magnitude of these excess costs would support better integrated mental and physical health care. The aim of this study was to estimate the excess annual hospital costs of non-mental health related inpatient and emergency care utilisation for four mental disorders in 32 European countries.

Methods

In this modelling study, we obtained data on the working-age population (aged 20–64 years) of 32 European countries from the European Statistical Agency, the 2019 Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study, epidemiological and cost evidence syntheses, and listed country-specific estimates. We estimated the non-mental health inpatient costs and emergency care hospital costs associated with the excess physical health burden of alcohol use disorders, bipolar disorder, depressive disorders, and schizophrenia in purchasing power standard Euros (PPS€) for 2019. Total physical comorbidity hospital costs were calculated by summing attributable non-mental health inpatient and emergency hospital costs across all physical health diagnoses by ICD-10 category for each mental disorder in all countries. Excess costs represent the proportion of total costs that were attributable to the excess physical health burden. People with lived experiences informed the original project plans.

Findings

In 2019, there were 312·5 million people of working age across 32 European countries. Total annual non-mental health inpatient and emergency care hospital costs were PPS€20·3 billion for alcohol use disorders, PPS€6·7 billion for bipolar disorder, PPS€26·5 billion for depressive disorders, and PPS€1·8 billion for schizophrenia, with considerable variation observed among countries. The proportion of excess costs were 59·4% (PPS€12·1 billion) for alcohol use disorder, 56·7% (PPS€3·8 billion) for bipolar disorder, 52·7% (PPS€14·0 billion) for depressive disorders, and 35·6% (PPS€0·7 billion) for schizophrenia.

Interpretation

These first comprehensive European estimates indicate that non-mental health inpatient and emergency care hospital costs contributed substantially to the total costs associated with four mental disorders. The excess costs equated to 1·8% of the included countries’ overall health-care expenditure and 0·16% of their gross domestic products. Estimates are conservative because they are limited to diagnosed mental disorders prevalent among working-age adults. A 1·0% reduction in the excess physical health burden of these mental disorders could lead to annual savings of more than PPS€190 million in non-mental health hospital costs in Europe.

Funding

European College of Neuropsychopharmacology.