Healthcare Resource Use and Cost Associated with Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

This study was funded by Sumitomo Pharma America (formerly Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc). Background: There is an unmet need in managing negative symptoms of schizophrenia (NSS). This study examined the healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and cost among patients with NSS in the United States. Methods: This retrospective longitudinal observational study utilized de-identified administrative claims data from STATinMED RWD Insights (01/01/2016-09/30/2022). Study sample included patients with schizophrenia (aged≥13) identified using ICD-10-CM: F20.XX, diagnosed with NSS (cases; ICD-10-CM: F20.5; index=first NSS diagnosis) or not (controls; random date assigned as index); identification period: 01/01/2017-09/30/2021. Outcomes included prevalence of NSS, mental health (MH)-related, schizophrenia-related, and all-cause HCRU and costs per patient per year (PPPY). Unadjusted and Inverse Proportional Treatment Weighted (IPTW) comparison were conducted for baseline characteristics and outcomes followed by Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) for HCRU and costs. Results: The final study sample had 5,691 NSS and 236,895 non-NSS patients. Prevalence rate of NSS was estimated at 24.66 per 1000 patients of Schizophrenia. After controlling for baseline characteristics, patients with NSS had significantly higher all-cause inpatient admissions (mean: 5.2 vs 4.2), outpatient emergency room (ER) visits (mean: 2.8 vs 2.0), inpatient stay costs ($23,830 vs $20,669), outpatient ER visit costs ($1,738 vs $1,167.20) and lower prescription numbers (mean: 49.2 vs 51.4); all p-values