ArticleCureus2026
Humanistic and Economic Burden of Spinal Muscular Atrophy in the Gulf Region.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundSpinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe, fatal genetic disorder. This study aimed to quantify the humanistic and economic burden of SMA in four Gulf countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and Bahrain, to provide decision-makers with evidence-based strategies for burden mitigation.
methodsA burden of disease model was developed to quantify SMA's humanistic burden via disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and its economic burden through direct healthcare costs and indirect productivity losses experienced by patients and caregivers.
resultsType 1 SMA caused the highest burden across all countries, followed by types 2 and 3. Total DALYs were 274,008 in KSA, 35,877 in UAE, 33,459 in Oman, and 8,679 in Bahrain. National direct medical costs totaled 114.9 million USD, 25.0 million USD, 9.5 million USD, and 3.8 million USD in KSA, UAE, Oman, and Bahrain, respectively. Annual indirect costs, driven by productivity losses among patients and caregivers, were estimated at 28.1 million USD in KSA, 5.3 million USD in UAE, 3.9 million USD in Oman, and 0.99 million USD in Bahrain.
conclusionsThe burden of SMA is considerable, particularly in the more severe phenotypes, with a profound humanistic impact and high medical costs. While results vary by population size, the consistent patterns across countries underscore the disease's severity and the urgent need for effective mitigation strategies.
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