Direct and indirect costs of allergic and non-allergic rhinitis to adults in Beijing, China

Abstract

Background: Chronic rhinitis is generally classified as either allergic rhinitis (AR) or non-allergic rhinitis (NAR). There is currently no report on the economic burden of AR and NAR in Beijing, China. Methodology: A total of 1013 valid questionnaires from 448 AR patients and 565 NAR patients living in Beijing were continuously collected for investigation of the direct (e.g., drugs, medical visits) and indirect costs (absenteeism and presenteeism) from August 2020 to April 2021. Results and Conclusion: The total cost of AR and NAR was € 195.6 patient/year and € 185.3 patient/year respectively. The total societal cost for adult AR and NAR patients in Beijing is around € 440.9 and € 671.9 million per year in terms of the standardized prevalence of the diseases. The patient's level of education, disease duration, predilection time of disease, severity of symptoms and comorbidity with other allergic disease were factors that affected the economic burden on patients with rhinitis.