ArticlePharmacoEconomics2021
The Excess Costs of Depression and the Influence of Sociodemographic and Socioeconomic Factors: Results from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS).
Article in PharmacoEconomics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Efficacy of prescription-eligible digital health applications for depression and generalized anxiety disorder in Germany: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Excess costs of mental disorders by level of severity.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2023Trial
- Bilateral theta burst stimulation as an add-on to schema therapy in major depression: methods and design of a randomized, sham-controlled study.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Effects of working part-time and full-time on depression in old age.Research square · 2026Article
- Cost-effectiveness of targeted feedback interventions after depression screening in primary care: health economic evaluation of the GET.FEEDBACK.GP trial.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- From cigarettes to symptoms: the association between smoking and depression in the German National Cohort (NAKO).BMC public health · 2025Article
- Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Have a Major Impact on Quality of Life and Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study of 300 Patients.Rheumatology and therapy · 2023Article
- Article
- The NEVERMIND e-health system in the treatment of depressive symptoms among patients with severe somatic conditions: A multicentre, pragmatic randomised controlled trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2022Article
- Lipid Biomarkers in Depression: Does Antidepressant Therapy Have an Impact?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The Growing Burden of Major Depressive Disorders (MDD): Implications for Researchers and Policy Makers.PharmacoEconomics · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe aim of this study was to estimate excess costs of depression in Germany and to examine the influence of sociodemographic and socioeconomic determinants.
methodsAnnual excess costs of depression per patient were estimated for the year 2019 by comparing survey data of individuals with and without self-reported medically diagnosed depression, representative for the German population aged 18-79 years. Differences between individuals with depression (n = 223) and without depression (n = 4540) were adjusted using entropy balancing. Excess costs were estimated using generalized linear model regression with a gamma distribution and log-link function. We estimated direct (inpatient, outpatient, medication) and indirect (sick leave, early retirement) excess costs. Subgroup analyses by social determinants were conducted for sex, age, socioeconomic status, first-generation or second-generation migrants, partnership, and social support.
resultsTotal annual excess costs of depression amounted to €5047 (95% confidence interval [CI] 3214-6880) per patient. Indirect excess costs amounted to €2835 (1566-4103) and were higher than direct excess costs (€2212 [1083-3341]). Outpatient (€498), inpatient (€1345), early retirement (€1686), and sick leave (€1149) excess costs were statistically significant, while medication (€370) excess costs were not. Regarding social determinants, total excess costs were highest in the younger age groups (€7955 for 18-29-year-olds, €9560 for 30-44-year-olds), whereas total excess costs were lowest for the oldest age group (€2168 for 65+) and first-generation or second-generation migrants (€1820).
conclusionsDepression was associated with high excess costs that varied by social determinants. Considerable differences between the socioeconomic and sociodemographic subgroups need further clarification as they point to specific treatment barriers as well as varying treatment needs.
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