Economic Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in the Southwest of Iran

Background: CVDs are the first cause of death globally. About 50% of annual deaths are related to this group of diseases in Iran; however, the economic cost of CVD on Iranian society has not been conducted. Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the economic burden of CVDs in the southwest of Iran in 2016 from the social perspective. Materials and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study conducted using the cost of illness (COI) framework. The prevalence top-down method was used to quantify the annual cardiovascular costs. Productivity losses were estimated using the human capital approach and the friction cost method, with the discount rate of 3% to convert all future lifetime earnings into the present value. Results: In 2016, the average total cost per patient was $1881.4 and the total costs resulted in 1159.62 $million. Direct costs accounted for 60% and indirect costs for 40% of the total costs. The results were robust to a 20% change in the average unit price of all medical and non- medical direct costs and to discount rate of 2% and 10%. Conclusions: The total cardiovascular disease costs in 2016 represented approximately 6.7% of the Iran gross domestic product. The results of this study would be of special help for policymakers to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and outcomes of health care programs to allocate health care resources efficiently. Primordial Prevention of CVD including lifestyle modifications and dietary interventions resulted in substantial financial savings and is strongly recommended