High cost of illness in fibromyalgia patients in Iran, irrespective of disease severity: A prospective cost study

Aims: This study aimed to estimate the economic burden of fibromyalgia (FM) in 6 months, using a cost-diary, and to evaluate its relationship with the disease severity. Methods: This is a prospective cost-of-illness study on 62 participants with an FM diagnosis within a 6 month period. Patients completed the questionnaires, including FIQR (Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) and SF-12 (12-item short-form survey). The cost-diary method was used to track the cost of the disease. The participants received six cost-diary booklets during the study period to report their FM-related costs, hours, and days of productivity loss. The final costs are reported in US dollars. Results: Most of the participants were women (90.3) with a mean (±SD) age of 40.80 (±5.50) years and a mean (±SD) FIQR score of 54.38 (±14.13). Moreover, 45.2 of patients fulfilled all six booklets, whereas 24.2 returned only one booklet. The participants showed a mean (±SD) direct healthcare, non-healthcare, and indirect cost of  2817.08 (± 1860.04),  1497.98(± 1358.21), and  1449.05(± 3637.41) per patient for 6 months, respectively. Conclusion: Fibromyalgia is associated with high health-related and non-health-related costs in our country, irrespective of its severity. This study warrants urgent consideration in managing the disease burden on both patients and society. © 2021 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Lt