Objectives
The Assessment in Work productivity and the Relationship with Cognitive symptoms study (AtWoRC, NCT02332954) is an interventional, open-label Canadian study, that demonstrated significant improvements in cognitive function and workplace productivity in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) treated with vortioxetine for a current major depressive episode (MDE). The objective of the present analysis was to assess the Canadian economic impact of improved workplace productivity based on the AtWoRC study results.
Methods
AtWoRC patients were ≥18 years with a current diagnosis of MDE for at least 3 months and were gainfully employed or enrolled full-time in post-secondary or vocational studies. All patients received a flexible dose of 10-20mg of vortioxetine daily, as per Canadian product monograph. The economic impact of improved productivity in MDD patients treated with vortioxetine was assessed over a 52-week period, from an employer’s perspective, considering productivity loss due to absenteeism and presenteeism using the standard human capital approach. Absenteeism was measured with the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire and presenteeism with the Work Limitation Questionnaire. Productivity gains following treatment with vortioxetine were estimated using the differences from baseline.
Results
The AtWoRC study included 199 patients. At baseline, patients missed an average of 8.1h due to absenteeism and 3.0h due to presenteeism in the past 7 days. Following 52 weeks of treatment with vortioxetine, patients reported to miss an average of 4.9h due to absenteeism and 2.0h due to presenteeism. This improved workplace productivity translates into an average weekly gain of C$110.64 at 52 weeks of treatment compared to baseline. The cumulative 52-week economic impact shows potential savings of C$4,550 when factoring in the cost of therapy.
Conclusions
This study suggests that productivity gain due to an improvement in symptoms of MDD following treatment with vortioxetine leads to substantial cost savings for the Canadian employers.
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