Economic considerations in overactive bladder

Many costs are associated with overactive bladder (OAB). They include direc t costs, such as those associated with treatment, diagnosis, routine care, and the consequences of the disease; indirect costs of lost wages and produ ctivity; and intangible costs associated with pain, suffering, and decrease d quality of life. quantification of all these costs is essential for estab lishing the total economic burden of a disease on society. Currently, the t otal economic burden of OAB is unknown. However, various studies have deter mined that the economic burden of urinary incontinence, one of the symptoms of OAB, is substantial. It is also important to establish the economic impact of various interventi ons for OAB. Cost-minimization, cost-outcome, cost-utility, and cost-benefi t models can be used for these analyses. The most difficult aspect of evalu ating the economic impact of a treatment is estimating the intangible costs .