The direct cost of chronic kidney disease (CKD) reported in Asian countries; a systematic literature review

BACKGROUND: The direct and indirect costs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are substantial and increase over time. Concerns regarding our capacity to manage the financial burden that CKD) places on patients, caregivers, and society are raised by its increasing prevalence and progression. Lack of awareness of CKD's economic effects is a major reason that lawmakers and administrators pay little attention to this chronic illness.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to analyze the direct burden of CKD across Asian countries and evaluate the main cost drivers among all mentioned cost centers in previous studies.

METHODOLOGY: Related works evaluating the expenditures of CKD from the perspective of the patient were interpreted by a thorough search of PUBMED and GOOGLE SCHOLAR.

RESULTS: Country-wise, in Asia, the direct mean average medical costs in RRT patients were reported in 8 studies as $4574, $18668, $2901, $6848, $16669, $3489, $5945, and $6344 in Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, China, Jordan, Vietnam, Lebanon, and India respectively and the direct mean average medical costs in non-RRT patients were reported in six studies as $3412, $2241, $4534, $290 and $1500 in Singapore, Japan, China, Vietnam, and India respectively.

CONCLUSION: Hemodialysis is the main cost driver having an average mean cost of $23,358 per patient per year while the average mean cost of disease management is $4977 per patient per year. More research is needed to understand the specific economic challenges disadvantaged populations face, including the impact of income, education, and access to healthcare resources on the financial burden of CKD.