Annual productivity costs due to cervical cancer mortality in the United States

doi:10.1016/j.whi.2006.06.005

Women's Health Issues

Volume 16, Issue 5, September–October 2006, Pages 236-242

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2006.06.005 Get rights and content

Background

Several studies have estimated annual US health care costs associated with cervical cancer; however, few data are available on the corresponding annual loss in women’s productive earnings resulting from premature mortality owing to cervical cancer. The present study estimates annual productivity costs associated with cervical cancer mortality in the United States.

Methods

An analytic framework was developed for estimating the lost earnings that would have accrued during 2000 for women dying from cervical cancer during that and earlier years, who would have otherwise been alive and working in 2000. The following data from publicly available sources were gathered and analyzed for US women on an age-specific basis: 1) annual number of cervical cancer deaths during 2000 and preceding years; 2) estimated probability of otherwise being alive during 2000, for women dying from cervical cancer during the period 1935–2000; 3) labor force participation rates in 2000; and 4) mean annual earnings in 2000.

Results

Overall, it was estimated that there were 130,377 women who would have been alive during 2000 had they not died from cervical cancer during that or a previous year. Over 75% of these women died before age 60, with >25% dying prior to age 40, and it was estimated that 37,594 (29%) of these women would have had labor force earnings during 2000. The total productivity loss in 2000 owing to cervical cancer mortality was estimated at $1.3 billion.

Conclusions

The annual productivity loss for cervical cancer estimated in the present analysis is several times higher than recent estimates of the annual US direct medical costs associated with cervical cancer ($300–$400 million).

Section snippets

Background

Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which has been estimated to be the most commonly occurring sexually transmitted infection in the United States (Cates, 1999). In the United States in 2005, it is estimated that 10,370 women were diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer with 3,710 dying from the disease (Jemal et al., 2005). Women develop and die of cervical cancer at a relatively young age compared to other cancers, with an average of 25.9 years of life lost per

Methods

Given cervical cancer mortality rates observed over the past several decades (Devesa et al 1987, Ries et al 2003) it is clear that there are tens of thousands of women who would have been alive today had they not otherwise died from cervical cancer. Although some of these women would now be out of the workforce, others would receive wage earnings from employment, which in economic analyses are often used to represent the value of the goods and services contributed by these individuals to

Results

Figure 1 depicts the estimated number of women dying from cervical cancer in the United States between 1935 and 2000, and the proportion who would have been alive during 2000 had they not otherwise died from cervical cancer. The estimated number of US women who would have been alive at each age in 2000, had they not otherwise died from cervical cancer during that or a previous year, is reported in Table 1. Overall, it was estimated that there were 130,377 women who would have been alive during

Discussion

Despite the widespread availability of cervical cancer screening over the past several decades in the United States, it is evident that a substantial health and economic impact associated with cervical cancer mortality still remains. Based on results from this analysis, the number of women that would otherwise have been alive in 2000 had they not previously died from cervical cancer (130,377) is estimated to exceed the female populations of Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut combined for that

Ralph P. Insinga is employed as a health economist by Merck Research Laboratories (North Wales, Pennsylvania). His research focus includes the areas of health and economic burden of illness evaluation, health technology assessment, and health utility analysis.

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ArticleAnnual productivity costs due to cervical cancer mortality in the United States

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Background

Methods

Results

Discussion

Lancet

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Journal of Health Economics

Gynecologic Oncology

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Preventive Medicine

Lancet Oncology

Controlled prospective longitudinal study of women with cancer: IIPsychological outcomes

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

Life tables for the United States Social Security area, 1900–2100

The economic burden of cancer

Statistical abstract of the United States 1946

Vital statistics of the United States 1946: Part I

Statistical abstract of the United States 1935–1982

Current dollar and “real” gross domestic product, 1929–2005

Current population survey

Comparison of average hourly earnings, not seasonally adjusted, before and after the March 2005 benchmark

Employment-population ratio, women

Current population survey

Estimates of the incidence and prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Annual estimates of the population by sex and 5-year age groups for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2003 (NC-EST2003-01)

Connecticut QuickFacts

Monthly postcensal resident population, by single year of age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, 1990–1999

Quarterly population estimates, 1980–1990

Sex by single years of age, 2000

Preventing emerging infectious diseases: A strategy for the 21st centuryOverview of the updated CDC plan

MMWR Recommended Reports

Deaths from each cause, by 5-year age groups, race, and sex: United States, 1994–2000

Deaths from each cause, by 5-year age groups, race, and sex: United States, 2000

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Annual productivity costs due to cervical cancer mortality in the United States