The Societal Impact of Respiratory Infections
Every year, Americans experience more than 500 million respiratory infections1
- Respiratory infections afflict millions of people in the United States annually, impacting quality of life and reducing productivity1-4
Rhinitis is responsible for approximately 28 million days of lost productivity annually3,5
- There are more than 100 million physician visits per year for respiratory conditions6
- Upper respiratory conditions alone are responsible for nearly 90 million physician visits annually6
The Economic Impact of Respiratory Conditions
Every year, Americans spend billions of health care costs on respiratory conditions1
- Approximately $5 billion is spent on nasal obstruction (often caused by nasal congestion) relief7
- $2.9 billion is spent on over-the-counter cold medicine8
- An estimated $2.7 billion is spent on allergic rhinitis (also known as hay fever)9
- $1.1 billion is spent on antibiotic prescriptions8
The common cold costs in the United States are $40 billion a year, including $20 billion in work loss8
References: 1. Bertino JS. Cost burden of viral respiratory infections: issues for formulary decision makers. Am J Med. 2002;112(6A):42S-49S. 2. Puruckherr M, Byrd R, Roy T, Krishnaswamy G. The diagnosis and management of chronic rhinosinusitis. http://66.102.1.104/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=cache:ITpy5H_AK1EJ:www.priory.com/med/rhinitis.htm. Accessed January 6, 2009. 3. Becker DG. Sinusitis. J Long Term Eff Med Implants. 2003;13:175-194. 4. Meneghetti A. Upper respiratory tract infection. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/302460-overview. Accessed December 17, 2008. 5. American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Web site. Allergists explore rising prevalence and unmet needs attributed to allergic rhinitis. http://www.acaai.org/public/linkpages/NR+Rising+Prevalence+and+Unmet+Needs+of+Allergic+Rhinitis.htm. Accessed October 10, 2008. 6. Verispan PDDA 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, YTD October 2004, MAT 10/03 and 10/04. 7. Corey JP, Houser SM, Ng BA. Nasal congestion: a review of its etiology, evaluation, and treatment. Ear Nose Throat J. 2000;79(9):690-702. 8. Davis JL. Cost of the common cold: $40 billion. WebMD Web site. http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/61/67418.htm. Accessed April 20, 2006. 9. Dykewicz MS, Fineman S. Executive summary of joint task force practice parameters on diagnosis and management of rhinitis. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 1998;81:463-468.
