Comprehensive Insights into the Economic Burden of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Latin America: A Systematic Literature Review of Regional Perspectives
Academic Article
Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects approximately 0.3 to 1.2percent-flag-change of the world’s population. The objective of this study was toidentify the existing literature on economic evaluations of RA in Latin America.Patients and Methods: Studies of economic evaluations of patients with RA from 2000 to 2023 were analyzed using the databasesPubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, and the Virtual Health Library following Preferred Reporting Items forSystematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI)tool, and qualitative analysis was done (following SwiM guidelines).Results: A total of 851 articles were identified. Following the application of inclusion criteria to titles and abstracts, 117 articles wereinitially considered eligible. Of these, 42 were excluded due to population or outcome-based errors, leaving 27 articles and 48 abstractsfor analysis. Duplicates were removed prior to this process. The included studies involved various designs: cross-sectional, longitudinal, prospective, and retrospective. Brazil accounted for the highest proportion of publications (33.3percent-flag-change), followed by Colombiaand Mexico, each contributing 26percent-flag-change. Most economic studies focused on cost analysis (86percent-flag-change), while cost-effectiveness studies and costutility studies represented 7.4percent-flag-change and 3.3percent-flag-change, respectively. Predominant perspectives included third-party payer 26percent-flag-change, insurers 14.8percent-flag-change,social providers 7.4percent-flag-change, and mixed providers 3.7percent-flag-change. In terms of publications of abstracts, Colombia leaded at 35.4percent-flag-change. The predominantperspective was that of the provider 66.6percent-flag-change, including the general perspective (37.5percent-flag-change), private (34.3percent-flag-change), public (22percent-flag-change), and mixed(6.2percent-flag-change) and the perspective of third-party payers (33.3percent-flag-change).Conclusion: Economic evaluations of rheumatoid arthritis in Latin America remain limited, with most studies focusing on costanalysis. Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico lead in publications, primarily from a provider perspective. Greater emphasis on costeffectiveness and broader economic evaluations is needed to guide health policy in the region.Keywords: economic burden, Latin America, rheumatoid arthritis
