The Economic Costs Of Anxiety In Spain

The main objective is the evaluation of the economic impact of anxiety-related direct and indirect costs in Spain for the year 2002. Direct medical costs (hospitalization costs, costs associated with outpatient consultations, and drugs) and indirect costs (premature death, temporary disability, and permanent disability) have been estimated based on prevalence costs, that is, the costs generated during the year 2002. Indirect costs have been calculated on the basis of the Human Capital Theory model. The annual total costs of anxiety in Spain were estimated at 789.4 million euros. Direct medical costs were estimated at 369 million euros and account for 46.7% of the total cost. Indirect costs were estimated at 420.4 million euros and represent 53.3% of the total cost. Direct medical costs associated with anxiety represent 1% of all National Health Care System expenditure for the year 2002 in Spain.Despite having applied a conservative approach, the high socioeconomic cost of anxiety offers us a better defi nition of the magnitude of the problem in order to establish priorities, as well as opening the way towards costeffectiveness studies that will enable us to debate this issue with greater transparency.