Estimating the cost of illness of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing concern, affecting about 45 million of the Bangladeshi population. There is a paucity of research on the economic burden of NAFLD. The study aims to estimate the cost of illness of NAFLD in Bangladesh. METHODS: In this prospective, cross‐sectional study, a total of 250 patients of NAFLD, non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and NASH cirrhosis were included from public and private hospitals. Costs of hospitalization, physician fees, investigation costs, expenditures on medical procedures, drugs; and nonmedical costs such as transport expenses and other informal payments (tips) were estimated. RESULTS: The overall cost per patient per evaluation was (16.90–46 942.00) USD. The cost in public and private hospitals was 384.76 and 1146.93 USD, respectively. The cost per patient of NAFLD was 157.91 (16.90–955.08) USD, and for NASH cirrhosis was 1783.80 (422.48–46 942) USD. The cost of illness increased to USD 281.18 for diabetics and 254.52 USD for hypertensive. If all the NAFLD patients are evaluated once in healthcare settings, the projected cost will be 7.11 billion USD. In NAFLD, cost for investigations, medicines, transportation, and consultation of physicians was 49.08%, 32.41%, 11.11%, and 6.67%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: NAFLD is causing a huge economic burden to the healthcare system. The cost of illness is increased with NASH cirrhosis. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the economic burden of NAFLD in Bangladesh and emphasizes the several ways of intervention to reduce the cost by preventive measures and accessible healthcare for affected individuals.