Kosten der Depression in Deutschland: Systematische Übersichtsarbeit

OBJECTIVE: Depression is a common mental disorder associated with a high economic burden. Aim of this study was to review cost-of-illness studies of depression in Germany.

METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature search of bottom-up cost-of-illness-studies of depression in adults in Germany. Included studies were classified into three groups depending on their costing approach (total health care cost studies, disease-specific health care cost studies, excess cost studies).

RESULTS: Depending on the type of cost calculation the average total costs per patient and year varied between 400-3,300 € for disease-specific costs, 3,000 € for excess costs and 3,000-5,000 € for total health care costs. There were no results for indirect costs in most studies.

CONCLUSION: Depression in Germany is associated with high costs, but especially indirect costs are missing in the current literature and should be examined more intensively.