Health Care Costs and Treatment Patterns Associated with Uterine Fibroids and Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: A Claims Analysis

BACKGROUND: Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is one of the most common distressing complications of uterine fibroids (UF); however, data on the health care costs for treatments in women experiencing HMB associated with UF are lacking. The objective of this study was to compare the direct costs and treatments patterns for women diagnosed with UF+HMB, UF only, and HMB only in the United States. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study design was retrospective matched cohort study using claims data. Women, aged 18–51 years, comprising four cohorts (HMB only, UF only, UF+HMB, and controls) were identified in the IBM MarketScan(®) Commercial Claims and Encounters Database (October 1, 2007‒September 30, 2018) and matched by demographics and Charlson Comorbidity Index score. Baseline characteristics and treatments during the 12 months post-diagnosis were summarized descriptively. Costs (2018 U.S. dollars) during the post-diagnosis year were compared using analysis of variance. RESULTS: Before matching, women with UF+HMB represented 54% of UF cases. Following diagnosis, 32% in the matched UF+HMB cohort had no treatment, 49% underwent surgeries/procedures with (12%) or without (37%) medications, and 18% received medications only. The mean all-cause total costs for UF+HMB ($16,762) exceeded that for UF only by 24% ($13,506) and HMB only by 50% ($11,135), and almost tripled the mean cost for the control cohort ($6,691) (all, p < 0.001). The mean diagnosis-related costs were significantly higher for UF+HMB ($8,741) than for UF only ($4,550) and HMB only ($3,081) (all, p < 0.0001). Surgery/procedure costs comprised 80% of diagnosis-related medical costs for UF+HMB. CONCLUSIONS: UF with HMB were associated with significant economic burden, driven primarily by surgical/procedural costs and treatment patterns.