Predictors of total health care costs for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection
| Characteristic | Regression model; relative cost* (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonadvanced liver disease† n = 45 539 | Advanced liver disease‡ n = 3838 | Terminal disease§ n = 8401 | |
| Age, yr | |||
| 20 | 1.38 (1.30–1.47) | 0.91 (0.83–1.02) | 0.73 (0.65–0.82) |
| 30 | 1.09 (1.07–1.13) | 0.96 (0.91–1.01) | 0.87 (0.83–0.91) |
| 40 | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| 50 | 1.04 (1.03–1.06) | 1.05 (0.99–1.10) | 1.12 (1.08–1.15) |
| 60 | 1.25 (1.21–1.29) | 1.09 (0.98–1.21) | 1.21 (1.15–1.28) |
| 70 | 1.73 (1.64–1.82) | 1.14 (0.98–1.33) | 1.27 (1.20–1.36) |
| 80 | 2.73 (2.51–2.98) | 1.19 (0.97–1.47) | 1.30 (1.20–1.41) |
| Sex | |||
| Female | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Male | 1.07 (1.02–1.11) | 1.00 (0.90–1.11) | 0.94 (0.88–1.00) |
| Neighbourhood income quintile | |||
| Q1 (lowest) | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Q2 | 0.93 (0.89–0.98) | 0.89 (0.77–1.03) | 1.07 (1.00–1.15) |
| Q3 | 0.87 (0.82–0.93) | 0.91 (0.79–1.05) | 1.05 (0.97–1.14) |
| Q4 | 0.89 (0.84–0.94) | 0.92 (0.79–1.07) | 1.04 (0.95–1.13) |
| Q5 (highest) | 0.79 (0.74–0.84) | 0.84 (0.71–1.00) | 0.98 (0.89–1.09) |
| Measures of comorbidity | |||
| Aggregated Diagnosis Groups score | |||
| 0–3 | 0.64 (0.62–0.68) | 1.06 (0.90–1.25) | 0.75 (0.69–0.82) |
| 4–7 | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| 8–10 | 1.64 (1.56–1.72) | 1.29 (1.13–1.47) | 1.48 (1.37–1.59) |
| ≥ 11 | 3.44 (3.24–3.65) | 1.79 (1.58–2.02) | 2.10 (1.95–2.25) |
| Immigrant | |||
| No | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Yes | 0.62 (0.57–0.67) | 0.79 (0.68–0.93) | 1.19 (1.06–1.34) |
| Hepatitis C virus infection treatment | |||
| No | Reference | Reference | Reference |
| Yes | 2.65 (2.56–2.74) | 1.78 (1.62–1.97) | 1.07 (0.83–1.37) |
| Health state | |||
| No cirrhosis | 1.10 (1.04–1.16) | – | – |
| No cirrhosis (RNA negative) | Reference | – | – |
| Compensated cirrhosis | 1.53 (1.41–1.66) | – | – |
| Decompensated cirrhosis | – | Reference | – |
| Hepatocellular carcinoma | – | 1.10 (0.94–1.28) | – |
| Both decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma | – | 1.69 (1.45–1.97) | – |
| Liver transplantation | – | 1.12 (0.96–1.31) | – |
| Terminal, non–liver-related | – | – | Reference |
| Terminal, liver-related | – | – | 1.24 (1.17–1.32) |
Note: CI = confidence interval.
↵* Calculated by taking exp (B), where B is the coefficient in the multiple regression predicting log-transformed cost. Relative cost for any category represents the proportion by which mean cost is increased relative to the referent category, all other variables being held constant.
↵† Includes health states of no cirrhosis, no cirrhosis (RNA negative) and compensated cirrhosis.
↵‡ Includes health states of decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, both decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver transplantation.
↵§ Includes health states of terminal (non-liver-related) and terminal (liver-related).