The direct costs of untreated comorbid insomnia in a managed care population with major depressive disorder

AbstractObjectives:Previous research has shown that untreated insomnia has significant direct and indirect burden. Despite the high comorbidity of insomnia and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), no studies have attempted to determine the economic costs among patients diagnosed with MDD and insomnia. The purpose of this study was to estimate the economic burden of comorbid untreated insomnia within an adult and elderly population with MDD.Design:A retrospective, observational study comparing direct health care costs in insomnia patients with MDD to a matched non-insomniacs group with MDD that had MDD and no insomnia. Data was from taken from managed care claims database in the United States.Measurements and results:A large managed care claims database was used to identify MDD subjects (aged ≥18 years) anytime between 01/01/1998 to 11/30/2007 using MDD-specific ICD-9-CM diagnoses. Insomniacs with MDD (n = 38,213) were selected from this cohort using insomnia-specific ICD-9-CM codes or hypnotic use. Costs were...