Objective: This study assessed the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and utilities of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients in Lebanon using generic and MS-specific QoL instruments, categorized by disease severity, and explored factors associated with HRQoL.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional, retrospective HRQoL study collecting data through face-to-face interviews using the EQ-5D-5 L and the Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life (MusiQoL) questionnaires. We enrolled Lebanese patients aged ≥18 years, diagnosed with MS for >6 months.
Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res
April 2023
Introduction: This study assessed the societal costs of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Lebanon, categorized by disease severity.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional, prevalence-based, bottom-up study using a face-to-face questionnaire. Patients were stratified by disease severity using the expanded disability status scale (EDSS); EDSS scores of 0-3, 4-6.
Appl Health Econ Health Policy
January 2023
In 2019, we embarked on a study on the economic burden of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Lebanon, in collaboration with a premier Lebanese MS center. This coincided with a triple disaster in Lebanon, comprising the drastic economic and financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequences of the explosion of Beirut's port. Specifically, the economic and financial turmoil made the valuation of costs challenging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Technol Assess Health Care
December 2021
Objectives: To systematically identify the latest versions of official economic evaluation guidelines (EEGs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and explore similarities and differences in their content.
Methods: We conducted a systematic search in MEDLINE (Ovid), PubMed, EconLit, Embase (Ovid), the Cochrane Library, and the gray literature. Using a predefined checklist, we extracted the key features of economic evaluation and the general characteristics of EEGs.
Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res
July 2022
This protocol describes the estimation of the societal costs and quality-of-life (QOL) burden of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Lebanon. This cross-sectional, prevalence-based burden-of-illness study was carried out in a premier MS center in Lebanon. We enrolled Lebanese patients aged 18 years and older who had been diagnosed with MS more than 6 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although the economic burden of multiple sclerosis (MS) in high-income countries (HICs) has been extensively studied, information on the costs of MS in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains scarce. Moreover, no review synthesizing and assessing the costs of MS in LMICs has yet been undertaken.
Objective: Our objective was to systematically identify and review the cost of illness (COI) of MS in LMICs to critically appraise the methodologies used, compare cost estimates across countries and by level of disease severity, and examine cost drivers.