Social Cost of Peptic Ulcer

Irwin Blumenthal

Expert InsightsPublished 1967

An updating of the data on the social cost of peptic ulcer presented in an earlier RAND study, R-336-RC. The previous study focused on the years 1954-1956; the present study focuses on 1963. Three indicators of the economic cost of peptic ulcer are examined: deaths due to ulcer, its prevalence in the population, and economic loss. The concept of economic loss as developed in the previous study has three components: (1) direct cost of resources diverted to medical care of the disease; (2) indirect cost resulting from the loss of individual productivity; and (3) indirect cost resulting from the loss of future productivity of individuals whose death is attributed to the disease. Total deaths ascribed to peptic ulcer in 1954 were 9,610. The number for 1963 was 11,900. If the 1963 rate is projected to the 1965 population, the total deaths are then estimated to be 12,500. The updated estimate of the economic cost of peptic ulcer approximates $1 billion.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1967
  • Pages: 25
  • Document Number: P-3588

Citation

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Blumenthal, Irwin, Social Cost of Peptic Ulcer. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1967. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P3588.html.
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