Literature DB >> 31440578

The impact of pharmaceutical innovation on the burden of disease in Canada, 2000-2016.

Frank R Lichtenberg1.   

Abstract

We perform an econometric assessment of the role that pharmaceutical innovation-the introduction and use of new drugs-has played in reducing the burden of disease in Canada, by investigating whether diseases for which more new drugs were launched had larger subsequent reductions in disease burden. Since utilization of a drug reaches a peak about 12-14 years after it was launched, we allow for considerable lags in the relationship between new drug launches and the burden of disease. We analyze the impact of new drug launches on a comprehensive measure of disease burden-the age-standardized disability-adjusted life-years lost (DALY) rate-and on its two components: the age-standardized years of life lost (YLL) and years lost to disability (YLD) rates. We also analyze the impact of new drug launches on the number of hospital discharges and on the average length of hospital stays. The number of DALYs lost is significantly inversely related to the number of drugs that had ever been launched 9-20 years earlier, and the number of YLLs is significantly inversely related to the number of drugs that had ever been launched 11-20 years earlier. The launch of a drug has the largest (most negative) impact on the number of DALYs and YLLs 15 years after it was launched. The estimates indicate that if no drugs had been launched during 1986-2001, the age-standardized DALY rate would not have declined between 2000 and 2016; it might even have increased. Almost all (93%) of the reduction in DALYs was due to a reduction in YLL. The estimates imply that new drug launches during 1986-2001 reduced DALYs in 2016 by 21%, reduced YLLs in 2016 by 28%, and reduced YLDs in 2016 by 3%. We estimate that drugs launched during 1986-2001 reduced the number of DALYs lost in 2016 by 2.31 million. Expenditure in 2016 on drugs launched during 1986-2001 per DALY gained in 2016 from those drugs was 2842 USD. Interventions that avert one DALY for less than average per capita income for a given country or region are generally considered to be very cost-effective; Canada's per capita GDP was 42,158 USD in 2016, so our estimates indicate that the new drugs launched during 1986-2001 were very cost-effective, overall. Moreover, 2842 USD may be an overestimate of the true net cost in 2016 per DALY of drugs launched during 1986-2001. A previous study based on U.S. data showed that about 25% of the cost of new drugs is offset by reduced expenditure on old drugs. Also, our estimates indicate that, if no drugs had been launched during 1986-2001, the average length of 2016 hospital stays would have been about 16% higher. The reduction in hospital expenditure due to shorter average length of stay may have been larger than the expenditure on the drugs responsible for shorter hospital stays.

Entities:  

Year:  2019        PMID: 31440578      PMCID: PMC6698939          DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100457

Source DB:  PubMed          Journal:  SSM Popul Health        ISSN: 2352-8273


Introduction

The health status of Canadians has improved during the 21st century. Life expectancy at birth increased from 79.24 years in 2000 to 82.14 years in 2015. Also, the age-standardized rate of potential years of life lost before age 751 per 100,000 population declined from 4214 during 1999–2003 to 3601 during 2009–2013—a 15% decline (Statistics Canada (2018a)). Some researchers have argued that biomedical innovation has been the principal cause of recent improvements in health. Fuchs (2010) said that “since World War II … biomedical innovations (new drugs, devices, and procedures) have been the primary source of increases in longevity,” although he did not provide evidence to support this claim. Cutler, Deaton, and Lleras-Muney (2006) performed a survey of a large and diverse literature on the determinants of mortality, and “tentatively identif[ied] the application of scientific advance and technical progress (some of which is induced by income and facilitated by education) as the ultimate determinant of health.” They concluded that “knowledge, science, and technology are the keys to any coherent explanation” of mortality. Other research has shown that most technological progress is “embodied”: to benefit from technological progress, people must use new products and services.2 Most scholars agree with Jones’ (1998, pp. 89–90) statement that “technological progress is driven by research and development (R&D) in the advanced world.” In 1997, the medical substances and devices sector was the most R&D-intensive3 major industrial sector in the U.S.: almost twice as R&D-intensive as the next-highest sector (information and electronics), and three times as R&D-intensive as the average for all major sectors. (National Science Foundation (2017)). According to Dorsey et al. (2010), in 2008, 88% of privately-funded U.S. biomedical research expenditure was funded by pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms; the remaining 11% was funded by medical device firms. The purpose of this study is to assess econometrically the role that pharmaceutical innovation—the introduction and use of new drugs—has played in reducing the burden of disease in Canada. During the period 1980–2016, drugs with 1404 new ATC codes were launched in Canada: about 39 new ATC codes per year, on average.4 For reasons discussed below, there is likely to be a substantial lag between the launch of a new drug and its maximum impact on the burden of disease, so we will allow for considerable lags in the relationship between new drug launches and the burden of disease. The analysis will be performed using a difference-in-differences (or two-way fixed effects) research design: we will investigate whether diseases for which more new drugs were launched had larger subsequent reductions in disease burden. This design controls for the effects of general economic and societal factors (e.g. income, education, and behavioural risk factors5), to the extent that those effects are similar across diseases, e.g. smoking increases mortality from respiratory and cardiovascular disease as well as lung cancer, and education reduces mortality from all diseases. The number of new drug launches varied considerably across diseases.6 Fig. 1 shows the number of chemical substances used to treat 5 diseases that had ever been launched in Canada during the period 1980–2016. These five diseases were selected because an identical number of—six— chemical substances had been launched for each disease by the year 1980. During the next 36 years, 14 new drugs for treating ovary cancer were launched; between 5 and 7 new drugs for treating gonorrhea, bladder cancer, and bipolar disorder were launched; only one new drug for treating gout was launched.
Fig. 1

Number of (WHO ATC5) chemical substances ever launched, 5 diseases, Canada, 1980–2016.

Source: Author's calculations based on data contained in Health Canada Drug Product Database and Thériaque database.

Number of (WHO ATC5) chemical substances ever launched, 5 diseases, Canada, 1980–2016. Source: Author's calculations based on data contained in Health Canada Drug Product Database and Thériaque database. The primary measure of disease burden we will analyze is the number of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) lost, as defined and measured by the World Health Organization (2018a). The DALY is a summary measure that combines time lost through premature death and time lived in states of less than optimal health, loosely referred to as “disability”. The DALY is a generalization of the well-known potential Years of Life Lost measure (YLLs) to include lost good health. One DALY can be thought of as one lost year of ‘healthy’ life, and the measured disease burden is the gap between a population's health status and that of a normative reference population. DALYs for a specific cause are calculated as the sum of the YLLs from that cause and the years of healthy life lost due to disability (YLDs) for people living in states of less than good health resulting from the specific cause. The YLLs for a cause are essentially calculated as the number of cause-specific deaths multiplied by a loss function specifying the years lost for deaths as a function of the age at which death occurs.7 Table 1 shows data on the number of DALYs lost (due to all causes) and population, by age group, in Canada in 2000 and 2016. Almost 9 million DALYs were lost in 2016. As shown in row 8, the crude DALY rate (DALYs lost per 100 population) declined by just 2% between 2000 and 2016. However, the DALY rate generally increases sharply with age (e.g., in 2016, the rate among people age 70 and over was about 3 times as high as the rate among people age 50–59), and the Canadian population is aging: the fraction of the population that was age 60 and over increased from 17% in 2000 to 23% in 2016. The age-standardized DALY rate declined by 14% between 2000 and 2016, and the rates among people age 60 and over declined by 20–22%. We will analyze the impact of new drug launches on the age-standardized DALY rate and on its two components: the age-standardized YLL and YLD rates. We will also analyze the impact of new drug launches on the number of hospital discharges and on the average length of hospital stays.
Table 1

DALYs lost and population by age group, Canada, 2000 and 2016.

row
2000
2016

age group (years)DALYs lost (000s)Population (000s)DALYs lost per 100 populationDALYs lost (000s)Population (000s)DALYs lost per 100 population% decline in DALYs lost per 100 population, 2000–2016
10–4227179312.7213192911.113%
25–1419440964.716138674.212%
315–29744624811.9798703811.35%
430–491678986717.01512971315.68%
550–591079360929.91451542826.711%
660–691214240450.51688428539.422%
770+2574271894.73071403176.220%
8Total77113073525.188963629124.52%





% of total

% of total


90–43%6%2%5%
105–143%13%2%11%
1115–2910%20%9%19%
1230–4922%32%17%27%
1350–5914%12%16%15%
1460–6916%8%19%12%
1570+33%9%35%11%
16Total100%100%100%100%
17Age-standardized rate125.121.514%

1. Age-standardized rate based on population age distribution in 2000.

DALYs lost and population by age group, Canada, 2000 and 2016. 1. Age-standardized rate based on population age distribution in 2000. In the next section, we will describe the econometric model that we will use to assess the role that pharmaceutical innovation has played in reducing the burden of disease in Canada during the period 2000–2016. The data sources used to estimate this model are discussed on Section III. Empirical results are presented in Section IV. Some implications of the estimates are discussed in Section V. Section VI provides a summary.

Methods

To assess the impact that pharmaceutical innovation had on the burden of disease, we will estimate models based on the following 2-way fixed effects equation8:where Ydt is one of the following variables:and. DALYdt = the age-standardized rate of DALYs lost due to disease d in year t (t = 2000, 2016) YLLdt = the age-standardized rate of years of life lost due to disease d in year t YLDdt = the age-standardized rate of years of healthy life lost due to disability due to disease d in year t CUM_DRUGd,t-k = ∑m INDmd LAUNCHEDm,t-k = the number of chemical substances to treat disease d that had been launched in Canada by the end of year t-k (k = 0, 1, 2, …,20) INDmd = 1 if chemical substance m is used to treat (indicated for) disease d 9 INDmd = 0 if chemical substance m is not used to treat (indicated for) disease d LAUNCHEDm,t-k = 1 if chemical substance m had been launched in Canada by the end of year t-k = 0 if chemical substance m had not been launched in Canada by the end of year t-k αd = a fixed effect for disease d δt = a fixed effect for year t Eq. (1) may be considered a health production function (Koç (2004)), and the number of chemical substances ever launched may be considered a measure of the stock of pharmaceutical “ideas.” Jones (2002) argued that “long-run growth is driven by the discovery of new ideas throughout the world.“10 The log-log specification of eq. (1) incorporates the assumption of diminishing marginal productivity of chemical substance launches: each additional chemical substance launch for a medical condition results in a diminishing absolute reduction in disease burden. If the cost of chemical substance launches for different diseases were equal, it would be socially optimal to equalize the absolute reductions in disease burden across diseases. A small percentage reduction in the burden of a high-burden disease would be as valuable as a large percentage reduction in the burden of a low-burden disease. Estimates based on eq. (1) will provide evidence about the impact of the launch of drugs for a disease on the burden of that disease, but they will not capture possible spillover effects of the drugs on the burden of other diseases. These spillovers may be either positive or negative. For example, the launch of cardiovascular drugs could reduce mortality from cardiovascular disease, but increase mortality from the “competing risk” of cancer. On the other hand, the launch of drugs for mental disorders could reduce mortality from other medical conditions. Prince et al. (2007) argued that “mental disorders increase risk for communicable and non-communicable diseases, and contribute to unintentional and intentional injury. Conversely, many health conditions increase the risk for mental disorder, and comorbidity complicates help-seeking, diagnosis, and treatment, and influences prognosis.” Due to data limitations, ln(CUM_DRUGd,t-k) is the only disease-specific, time-varying regressor in eq. (1). If the data were available, we would like to include other regressors in eq. (1), including (1) disease incidence, and (2) the number of non-pharmaceutical medical innovations (e.g. medical device innovations) that had been launched in Canada. However, there is good reason to believe that failure to control for those variables is unlikely to result in overestimation of the magnitude of βk; exclusion of those variables may even result in underestimation of the magnitude of βk. Higher disease incidence is likely to result in both higher disease burden and a larger number of chemical substance launches: Previous studies have shown that both innovation (the number of drugs developed) and diffusion (the number of drugs launched in a country) depend on market size. Acemoglu & Linn, n.d. found “economically significant and relatively robust effects of market size on innovation.” Danzon, Wang, and Wang (2005) found that “countries with lower expected prices or smaller expected market size experience longer delays in new drug access, controlling for per capita income and other country and firm characteristics” (emphasis added). Although incidence data are not available for most diseases, annual incidence data for the period 1992–2010 are available for 31 cancer sites (breast, lung, etc.). As expected, there is a significant positive correlation across cancer sites between ln(CASESst) (where CASESst = the number of patients diagnosed with cancer at cancer site s in year t) and ln(CUM_DRUGst) (where CUM_DRUGst = the number of chemical substances to treat cancer at site s that had ever been launched by the end of year t). But estimates of the equation ln(CUM_DRUGst) = π ln(CASESst) + αs + δst + εst indicate that the growth rate of CUM_DRUG is uncorrelated across cancer sites with the growth rate of incidence. This suggests that estimates of βk in eq. (1) are unlikely to be biased by the omission of incidence in that equation. Failure to control for non-pharmaceutical medical innovation (e.g. innovation in diagnostic imaging, surgical procedures, and medical devices) is also unlikely to bias estimates of the effect of pharmaceutical innovation on the burden of disease, for two reasons. First, as noted earlier, 88% of privately-funded U.S. funding for biomedical research came from pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms (Dorsey et al. (2010)).11 Second, previous research based on U.S. data (Lichtenberg (2014a; 2014b)) indicated that non-pharmaceutical medical innovation is not positively correlated across diseases with pharmaceutical innovation. The dependent variable of eq. (1) is the log of the level of disease burden in year t. We will use data for two years: 2000 and 2016. Substituting those two values of t into eq. (1) yields: Subtracting eq. (2) from eq. (3) yields:where Δln(Yd) = ln(Yd,2016/Yd,2000) Δln(CUM_DRUG_kd) = ln(CUM_DRUGd,2016-k/CUM_DRUGd,2000-k) δ’ = (δ2016 - δ2000) εd’ = (εd,2016 - εd,2000) Eq. (4) is a simple regression of the 2000–2016 growth in the burden of disease d on the growth in the number of drugs that were used to treat disease d that had ever been launched k years earlier.12 To address the issue of heteroskedasticity,13 eq. (4) will be estimated by weighted least squares, weighting by (Yd,2000 + Yd,2016)/2. The mean (across all medical conditions) 2000–2016 log change in disease burden from drugs launched k years earlier is Δk = βk * mean (Δln(CUM_DRUG_kd)). The (absolute) reduction in 2016 disease burden from drugs launched between 2000 – k and 2016 – k is (∑d Yd,2016) * (1 - (1/exp(Δk))). We will estimate 63 (= 3 * 21) versions of eq. (4): one for each of the three measures of disease burden (DALY, YLL, and YLD) for 21 different lag values (k = 0, 1, …, 20). There is likely to be a substantial lag between the launch of a new drug and its maximum impact on the burden of disease. Utilization of recently-launched drugs tends to be much lower than utilization of drugs launched many years earlier. Evidence about the shape of the drug-age (number of years since launch) drug-utilization profile can be obtained by estimating the following equation:where N_SUmn = the number of standard units of molecule m sold in Canada n years after it was first launched (n = 0, 1, …, 20) ρm = a fixed effect for molecule m πn = a fixed effect for age n The expression exp(πn - π14) is a “relative utilization index”: it is the mean ratio of the quantity of a drug sold n years after it was launched to the quantity of the same drug sold 14 years after it was launched. We estimated eq. (5), using annual data for the period 2007–2017 on 721 molecules. Estimates of the “relative utilization index” are shown in Fig. 2. These estimates indicate that utilization of a drug reaches a peak about 12–14 years after it was launched. It is used about twice as much then as it was 4 years after launch14
Fig. 2

Drug age-utilization profile.

Source: Author's calculations based on data contained in Health Canada Drug Product Database and IQVIA MIDAS database.

Drug age-utilization profile. Source: Author's calculations based on data contained in Health Canada Drug Product Database and IQVIA MIDAS database. Due to gradual diffusion of new drugs, the maximum impact of a drug on disease burden is likely to occur many years after it was launched, but the peak effect could occur either more than or less than 12–14 years after launch. The lag might be longer because some drugs for chronic diseases (e.g. statins) may have to be consumed for several years to achieve full effectiveness. But the lag might be shorter because the impact of a drug on disease burden is likely to depend on its quality (or effectiveness) as well as on its quantity (utilization), and drugs launched more recently are likely to be of higher quality than earlier-vintage drugs. 15,16 As mentioned earlier, in addition to analyzing the impact of new drug launches on DALYs, we will analyze their impact on the number of hospital discharges and on the average length of hospital stays, by estimating the following equations:Where. Δln(DISCHARGESd) = ln(DISHARGESd,2016/DISCHARGESd,2000) Δln(ALOSd) = ln(ALOSd,2016/ALOSd,2000) DISCHARGESdt = the number of hospital discharges for disease d in year t (t = 2000, 2016) ALOSdt = average length (number of days) of hospital stays for disease d in year t Eqs. (6), (7) will be estimated by weighted least squares, weighting by (DISCHARGESd,2000 + DISCHARGESd,2016)/2.

Data sources

Disease burden data. Age-standardized rates of DALY, YLL, and YLD, by disease and year, were constructed using data obtained from the World Health Organization's Disease Burden Database (World Health Organization (2018b)).17 The disease classification used in the Disease Burden Database is described in Annex Table A of World Health Organization (2018c). Age-standardized rates (per 100,000 population) of Disability-Adjusted Life-Years lost (DALYs), Years of Life Lost (YLLs), and Years of Healthy Life Lost due to Disability (YLDs), by cause, in 2000 and 2016 are shown in Appendix Table 1. Drug launch data. Health Canada's Drug Products Database (Health Canada (2018)) was used to determine the years in which (WHO ATC 5th-level) chemical substances first received market authorization in Canada. Drug indications data. Indications (coded by ICD-10) of chemical substances were obtained from Theriaque, a database produced by the French Centre National Hospitalier d'Information sur le Médicament (2018).18 The number of (WHO ATC5) chemical substances ever launched, by cause, during 1980–2016 are shown in Appendix Table 2.
Table 2

Estimates of βk parameters of eq. (4).

A. DALYs (disability-adjusted life-years)
rowlagEstimateStd. Err.t Valuep-valueNmean (regressor)βk * mean (regressor)
10−0.2870.118−2.440.0161330.234−0.067
21−0.0070.112−0.060.9501310.255−0.002
32−0.0710.116−0.610.5421300.270−0.019
43−0.1600.105−1.520.1311300.295−0.047
54−0.2550.096−2.660.0091290.331−0.084
65−0.1760.081−2.190.0311280.361−0.064
76−0.0940.073−1.280.2031280.396−0.037
87−0.1280.074−1.740.0851270.422−0.054
98−0.1370.070−1.950.0531250.442−0.061
109−0.2570.073−3.510.0011240.473−0.122
1110−0.2460.078−3.160.0021230.482−0.118
1211−0.2510.066−3.820.0001230.516−0.129
1312−0.2470.066−3.740.0001220.529−0.131
1413−0.3070.063−4.88<.00011220.536−0.164
1514−0.3310.060−5.48<.00011210.551−0.182
1615−0.4140.072−5.77<.00011190.557−0.231
1716−0.3340.063−5.27<.00011160.605−0.202
1817−0.3230.056−5.81<.00011160.637−0.206
1918−0.3150.055−5.76<.00011160.633−0.200
2019−0.3110.053−5.83<.00011120.640−0.199
21
20
−0.281
0.053
−5.28
<.0001
112
0.649
−0.182
B. YLLs (years of life lost)
row
lag
Estimate
Std. Err.
t Value
p-value
N
mean(regressor)
βk * mean(regressor)
220−0.0700.140−0.500.6191330.285−0.020
2310.2310.1231.880.0631310.2930.068
2420.1110.1350.830.4101300.3000.033
253−0.0310.125−0.250.8041300.331−0.010
264−0.1830.114−1.610.1111290.371−0.068
275−0.0850.092−0.930.3571280.409−0.035
286−0.0150.088−0.170.8641280.446−0.007
297−0.0530.090−0.590.5551270.477−0.025
308−0.0990.087−1.130.2621250.495−0.049
319−0.2000.092−2.170.0331240.533−0.107
3210−0.1840.096−1.920.0581230.536−0.099
3311−0.2720.082−3.320.0011230.568−0.155
3412−0.3030.085−3.560.0011220.576−0.174
3513−0.3760.082−4.59<.00011220.600−0.225
3614−0.4190.077−5.41<.00011210.621−0.260
3715−0.5130.103−4.98<.00011190.635−0.326
3816−0.2380.087−2.720.0081160.722−0.172
3917−0.2000.078−2.560.0121160.788−0.157
4018−0.2120.077−2.750.0071160.781−0.165
4119−0.1780.074−2.420.0181120.806−0.144
42
20
−0.153
0.070
−2.18
0.032
112
0.807
−0.124
C. YLDs (years lost due to disability)
row
lag
Estimate
Std. Err.
t Value
p-value
N
mean(regressor)
βk * mean(regressor)
430−0.1160.071−1.630.1061330.173−0.020
4410.0140.0590.230.8151310.2100.003
452−0.0080.057−0.130.8941300.234−0.002
463−0.0270.051−0.520.6041300.253−0.007
474−0.0520.048−1.090.2791290.284−0.015
485−0.0530.044−1.210.2281280.305−0.016
4960.0080.0350.220.8271280.3370.003
507−0.0010.035−0.020.9871270.3580.000
5180.0110.0260.430.6691250.3790.004
529−0.0640.027−2.370.0191240.401−0.026
5310−0.0580.029−2.000.0491230.417−0.024
5411−0.0450.024−1.920.0581230.453−0.020
5512−0.0420.022−1.900.0611220.472−0.020
5613−0.0450.022−2.010.0471220.458−0.021
5714−0.0420.022−1.900.0601210.467−0.020
5815−0.0680.025−2.730.0071190.465−0.032
5916−0.0680.026−2.650.0091160.468−0.032
6017−0.0720.025−2.850.0051160.458−0.033
6118−0.0630.024−2.610.0101160.457−0.029
6219−0.0660.026−2.560.0121120.444−0.029
6320−0.0560.025−2.210.0301120.463−0.026
Estimates of βk parameters of eq. (4). Drug utilization and expenditure data. Data on the quantity (number of standard units) and value (in USD) of prescription drugs sold in Canada, by chemical substance and year (2007–2017) were obtained from the IQVIA MIDAS database. Cancer incidence data. Data on the number of new cases of primary cancer, by cancer site and year, were obtained from Statistics Canada (2018c). Hospitalization data. Data on the number of hospital discharges and average length of stay, by diagnosis, in 2000 and 2016, were obtained from the OECD Health Statistics database (OECD (2018a)). The disease classification scheme is provided in OECD (2018b). The number of hospital discharges and average length of stay (in days), by cause, in 2000 and 2016 are shown in Appendix Table 3.
Table 3

Estimates of βk parameters of eqs. (6), (7).

A. Discharges
rowlagEstimateStd. Err.t Valuep-valueNmean (regressor)βk * mean (regressor)
100.2360.2600.910.369610.1990.047
210.2660.2521.060.294610.2110.056
320.2560.2461.040.301610.2230.057
430.1640.2120.770.443610.2540.042
540.1490.1920.780.439610.2920.044
650.1010.1750.580.566610.3160.032
760.0920.1800.510.612610.3270.030
870.1090.1830.600.552610.3550.039
980.1410.1670.840.403610.3800.054
1090.1160.1590.730.470610.4220.049
11100.1170.1660.710.483610.4240.050
12110.0920.1520.610.547610.4660.043
13120.0860.1490.580.564610.4910.042
14130.0960.1460.650.516610.5120.049
15140.1150.1400.830.411610.5390.062
16150.1670.1571.060.294600.5550.093
17160.1510.1590.960.343600.5650.086
18170.0950.1400.680.499600.6020.057
19180.0530.1350.390.698580.6080.032
20190.0750.1420.520.602580.6060.045
21
20
0.080
0.138
0.58
0.567
58
0.619
0.049



B. ALOS
row
lag
Estimate
Std. Err.
t Value
p-value
N
mean(regressor)
βk * mean(regressor)
220−0.4310.157−2.740.008610.199−0.086
231−0.4170.153−2.730.008610.211−0.088
242−0.4520.147−3.080.003610.223−0.101
253−0.4180.124−3.360.001610.254−0.106
264−0.3830.112−3.410.001610.292−0.112
275−0.3410.102−3.330.002610.316−0.108
286−0.3160.108−2.940.005610.327−0.103
297−0.3170.109−2.890.005610.355−0.112
308−0.3020.100−3.020.004610.380−0.115
319−0.2670.096−2.790.007610.422−0.113
3210−0.2680.100−2.670.010610.424−0.114
3311−0.2420.092−2.630.011610.466−0.113
3412−0.2370.090−2.630.011610.491−0.116
3513−0.2650.087−3.030.004610.512−0.136
3614−0.2710.082−3.290.002610.539−0.146
3715−0.3110.093−3.350.001600.555−0.173
3816−0.3150.093−3.380.001600.565−0.178
3917−0.2780.082−3.390.001600.602−0.167
4018−0.2820.078−3.620.001580.608−0.171
4119−0.2750.083−3.300.002580.606−0.166
4220−0.2510.082−3.060.003580.619−0.155
Estimates of βk parameters of eqs. (6), (7).

Results

Estimates of βk parameters of eq. (4) are shown in Table 2. In Panel A of Table 2, the dependent variable is Δln(DALYd) = ln(DALYd,2016/DALYd,2000). The estimate in each row of the table is from a separate model. Rows 1–21 show estimates for assumed values of 0, 1, 2, …, 20 years of the lag (k) from drug launch to disease burden. The point estimates and 95% confidence intervals are also plotted (on an inverted scale) in Panel A of Fig. 3, where solid markers denote significant (p-value < .05) estimates and hollow markers represent insignificant estimates. For k ≤ 8, only 3 of the 9 estimates are statistically significant. This is not surprising since, as discussed earlier, utilization of recently-launched drugs tends to be quite low, and there may also be a lag from drug utilization to disease burden reduction. However, for k ≥ 9, all 12 βk estimates are negative and statistically significant: the number of DALYs lost is significantly inversely related to the number of drugs that had ever been launched 9–20 years earlier. The magnitude of the estimates tends to increase as k increases, until k = 15, when it starts to decline. The launch of a drug had the largest (most negative) impact on the number of DALYs lost 15 years after it was launched.
Fig. 3

Estimates of βk parameters of eq. (4).

Estimates of βk parameters of eq. (4). Panel A of Fig. 4 shows a comparison of the relative utilization and DALY βk estimate profiles. Utilization of a drug tends to rise until 12 years after launch, remains stable for 3 years, and then starts to decline. The βk estimates exhibit some volatility in years 0–6, but then generally increase in magnitude until year 15, and begin to decline the year after utilization begins to decline. The correlation between these two profiles is highly statistically significant (correlation = −0.58; p-value = .006).
Fig. 4

Comparison of relative utilization and βk estimate profiles.

Comparison of relative utilization and βk estimate profiles. Fig. 5 is a bubble plot depicting the relationship across diseases between the 1985–2001 percentage increase in the number of drugs ever launched, and the 2000–2016 percentage change in the age-standardized DALY rate. It is clear from the figure that ischemic heart disease is a highly influential observation. Although the fact that an observation is influential does not necessarily mean that it should be excluded, we estimated the model when that observation was excluded. Exclusion of that observation reduced the point estimate of β15 by 36% (from −0.414 to −0.265), but the estimate remained highly significant (t-value = 4.93; p-value < .0001).19
Fig. 5

Relationship across diseases between % increase in number of drugs ever launched, 1985–2001, and % change in age-standardized DALY rate, 2000–2016.

Bubble area is proportional to (DALYc,2000 + DALYc,2016)/2.

Relationship across diseases between % increase in number of drugs ever launched, 1985–2001, and % change in age-standardized DALY rate, 2000–2016. Bubble area is proportional to (DALYc,2000 + DALYc,2016)/2. Another apparently influential observation is diabetes. This observation is weakening the relationship between drug launches and DALY reduction: despite a large percentage increase in the number of diabetes drugs, the burden of diabetes did not decline by an unusually large amount. This may be due to a significant increase in the prevalence of diabetes.20 Appendix Fig. 1 shows that the prevalence of diabetes in Canada increased significantly between 2000/2001 and 2008. When we exclude both diabetes and ischemic heart disease from the sample, the point estimate of β15 (−0.385) is very close to the estimate reported in row 16 of Table 2, and is highly significant (t-value = 5.69; p-value < .0001). We also estimated an alternative functional form (semi-logarithmic as opposed to log-log) of the relationship between drug launches and subsequent DALY reduction. These estimates are shown in Appendix Table 4. Twenty of the 21 coefficients are negative and significant. There is little evidence of an inverted U-shaped profile, and the maximum magnitude of the effect (βk * mean (regressor)) in the semi-logarithmic model is only 38% as large as the maximum magnitude of the effect in the log-log model. But the fit of the semi-logarithmic model is inferior to the fit of the log-log model. When we include both ln (CUM_DRUGd,2001/CUM_DRUGd,1985) and (CUM_DRUGd,2001 - CUM_DRUGd,1985) in the model, as suggested by Davidson and MacKinnon (1981), the coefficient on the former regressor is significant, but the coefficient on the latter regressor is not. This indicates that the log-log functional form is more appropriate than the semi-logarithmic functional form.21
Appendix Table 4

Estimates of βk parameters of semi-logarithmic version of eq. (4), Δln(Yd) = βk (CUM_DRUGd,2016-k - CUM_DRUGd,2000-k) + δ’+ εd’

rowlagEstimateStd. Err.t Valuep-valueNmean (regressor)βk * mean (regressor)
10−0.00560.003−2.040.0441368.357−0.047
21−0.00260.003−0.990.3241368.682−0.022
32−0.00370.002−1.480.1421369.203−0.034
43−0.00480.002−2.030.0441369.811−0.047
54−0.00550.002−2.620.01013611.028−0.061
65−0.00540.002−2.660.00913611.464−0.062
76−0.00470.002−2.320.02213611.816−0.055
87−0.00510.002−2.660.00913612.535−0.064
98−0.00520.002−2.790.00613612.814−0.066
109−0.00450.002−2.650.00913614.021−0.064
1110−0.00420.002−2.460.01613614.097−0.059
1211−0.00470.002−2.830.00513614.691−0.069
1312−0.00430.002−2.600.01113614.678−0.063
1413−0.00520.002−3.230.00213614.769−0.076
1514−0.00520.002−3.350.00113614.923−0.078
1615−0.00490.002−3.140.00213614.972−0.074
1716−0.00540.002−3.290.00113614.877−0.080
1817−0.00590.002−3.650.00013614.770−0.088
1918−0.00570.002−3.390.00113614.121−0.080
2019−0.00550.002−3.260.00113613.946−0.076
2120−0.00510.002−2.870.00513613.276−0.068
Now we will briefly summarize estimates of models of the two components of DALY, YLL and YLD.22 In Panel B of Table 2, the dependent variable is Δln(YLLd) = ln(YLLd,2016/YLLd,2000). Rows 22–42 show estimates for assumed values of 0, 1, 2, …, 20 years of the lag (k) from drug launch to disease burden. The point estimates and 95% confidence intervals are also plotted (on an inverted scale) in Panel B of Fig. 3. For k ≤ 10, only 1 of the 11 estimates is statistically significant. However, for k ≥ 11, all 10 βk estimates are negative and statistically significant: the number of YLLs is significantly inversely related to the number of drugs that had ever been launched 11–20 years earlier. Once again, the magnitude of the estimates tends to increase as k increases, until k = 15, when it starts to decline. The launch of a drug had the largest (most negative) impact on the number of YLLs lost 15 years after it was launched. Panel B of Fig. 4 shows a comparison of the relative utilization and YLL βk estimate profiles. Like the DALY βk estimates, the YLL βk estimates exhibit some volatility in years 0–6, but then generally increase in magnitude until year 15, and begin to decline the year after utilization begins to decline. The correlation between these two profiles is again highly statistically significant (correlation = −0.78; p-value < .001). In Panel C of Table 2, the dependent variable is Δln(YLDd) = ln(YLDd,2016/YLDd,2000). The point estimates and 95% confidence intervals are also plotted (on an inverted scale) in Panel C of Fig. 3. For k ≤ 8, none of the 9 estimates are statistically significant. For 9 ≤ k ≤ 14, 3 out of 6 βk estimates are negative and significant. For 15 ≤ k ≤ 20, 6 out of 6 βk estimates are negative and significant. This indicates that the number of years lost due to disability was reduced by drugs that had been launched up until 15–20 years earlier. The estimates in Table 2 imply that most of the DALY reduction from new drug launches was due to a reduction in YLL. The estimates of β15 in rows 16, 37, and 58 imply that new drug launches during 1986–2001 reduced DALYs in 2016 by 21% (= 1 – exp (-0.231)), reduced YLLs in 2016 by 28%, and reduced YLDs in 2016 by 3%.23 There will be additional discussion of the magnitudes of these effects in the next section. The last estimates we will present are estimates of βk from the hospital discharges and average length of stay equations, eqs. (6), (7). Panel A of Table 3 shows estimates of βk from the hospital discharges equation, eq. (6). None of the estimates are statistically significant; we see no evidence that new drug launches reduced the number of people discharged from (or admitted to) hospitals. However, since there is strong evidence that new drug launches reduced mortality, they may have increased the number of people “at risk” of being hospitalized, so new drug launches may have reduced the number of hospital discharges per person at risk of being hospitalized. Panel B of Table 3 shows estimates of βk from the average length of hospital stay equation, eq. (7). All 21 estimates are negative and highly significant (p-value ≤ .011), indicating that medical conditions for which there were more new drug launches had smaller increases in average length of stay (ALOS).24 In contrast to the DALY and YLL estimates, the magnitudes of the ALOS estimates are larger for more recent drug launches. Perhaps uptake of new drugs is more rapid among hospitalized patients than it is among other patients. However, the overall impact of new drug launches (βk * mean(Δln(CUM_DRUG_k))) is highest for k = 16: new drugs launched during 1984–2000 had the largest (most negative) effect on ALOS in 2016. The estimate in row 38 of Table 3 indicates that those drug launches reduced ALOS in 2016 by 16% (= 1 – exp(-0.178)).

Discussion

The estimates of the DALY model shown in Panel A of Table 2 and Fig. 3, Fig. 4, in conjunction with other data, may be used to calculate the reduction in DALYs lost in 2016 attributable to previous drug launches and the average cost per DALY gained. DALYs are most significantly inversely related to the number of drugs that had ever been launched 15 years earlier. The estimate of β15 in row 16 of Table 2 indicates that drugs launched during 1986–2001 reduced the mean 2000–2016 log change in DALYs lost by −0.231. This implies that, in the absence of those drug launches, DALYs lost in 2016 would have been 26.0% (= 1 - exp(-0.231)) higher. As shown in Table 1, the total number of DALYs lost in 2016 was 8.896 million, so we estimate that drugs launched during 1986–2001 reduced the number of DALYs lost in 2016 by 2.31 million. If those drugs had not been launched, the total number of DALYs lost in 2016 would have been 11.21 million. Similar calculations based on the YLL and YLD estimates imply that almost all (93%) of the reduction in DALYs was due to a reduction in YLL. As noted earlier (see Table 1), the age-standardized DALY rate declined by 14.4% between 2000 and 2016. The estimate of the model in row 16 of Table 2 indicates that, if no drugs had been launched during 1986–2001, the age-standardized DALY rate would not have declined; it might even have increased.25 Fig. 6 compares actual % declines in age-standardized DALY, YLL, and YLD rates, 2000–2016 to estimated % declines attributable to drugs launched during 1986–2001.
Fig. 6

Actual vs. estimated % declines in age-standardized DALY, YLL, and YLD rates, 2000–2016.

Actual vs. estimated % declines in age-standardized DALY, YLL, and YLD rates, 2000–2016. According to unpublished IQVIA data, expenditure in Canada in 2016 on drugs launched during 1986–2001 was 6.57 billion USD.26 This expenditure estimate, along with our estimate of the reduction in DALYs lost, implies that pharmaceutical expenditure per DALY gained in 2016 from drugs launched during 1986–2001 was 2842 USD (= 6.57 billion USD/2.31 million DALYs).27 As noted by Bertram et al. (2016), authors writing on behalf of the WHO's Choosing Interventions that are Cost–Effective project (WHO-CHOICE) suggested in 2005 that “interventions that avert one DALY for less than average per capita income for a given country or region are considered very cost–effective; interventions that cost less than three times average per capita income per DALY averted are still considered cost–effective.” Canada's per capita GDP was 42,158 USD in 2016, so these estimates indicate that the new drugs launched during 1986–2001 were very cost–effective, overall. Several considerations suggest that 2842 USD may be an overestimate of the true net cost in 2016 per DALY of drugs launched during 1986–2001. First, that estimate is based on drug cost measured at invoice price levels; rebates and discounts are not reflected.28 Second, a previous study based on U.S. data (Lichtenberg (2014c)) showed that about 25% of the cost of new drugs is offset by reduced expenditure on old drugs.29 Third, our estimates indicated that, if no drugs had been launched during 1986–2001, the average length of 2016 hospital stays would have been about 16% higher. This suggests that hospital expenditure might have been 16% higher. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (2017), hospital expenditure in 2016 was 51.30 billion USD (= 66.63 billion CAD at a 0.77 USD/CAD exchange rate), so hospital expenditure might have been 8.21 billion USD (= 16% * 51.30 billion USD) higher. The reduction in hospital expenditure due to shorter average length of stay may have been larger than the expenditure on the drugs responsible for shorter hospital stays.

Summary

In this study, we performed an econometric assessment of the role that pharmaceutical innovation—the introduction and use of new drugs—has played in reducing the burden of disease in Canada, by investigating whether diseases for which more new drugs were launched had larger subsequent reductions in disease burden. Since utilization of a drug reaches a peak about 12–14 years after it was launched, we allowed for considerable lags in the relationship between new drug launches and the burden of disease. We analyzed the impact of new drug launches on a comprehensive measure of disease burden—the age-standardized disability-adjusted life-years lost (DALY) rate—and on its two components: the age-standardized years of life lost (YLL) and years lost to disability (YLD) rates. We also analyzed the impact of new drug launches on the number of hospital discharges and on the average length of hospital stays. We found that the number of DALYs lost is significantly inversely related to the number of drugs that had ever been launched 9–20 years earlier, and that the number of YLLs is significantly inversely related to the number of drugs that had ever been launched 11–20 years earlier. The launch of a drug had the largest (most negative) impact on the number of DALYs and YLLs 15 years after it was launched. The estimates indicated that if no drugs had been launched during 1986–2001, the age-standardized DALY rate would not have declined between 2000 and 2016; it might even have increased. Almost all (93%) of the reduction in DALYs was due to a reduction in YLL. The estimates implied that new drug launches during 1986–2001 reduced DALYs in 2016 by 21%, reduced YLLs in 2016 by 28%, and reduced YLDs in 2016 by 3%. We estimated that drugs launched during 1986–2001 reduced the number of DALYs lost in 2016 by 2.31 million. Expenditure in 2016 on drugs launched during 1986–2001 per DALY gained in 2016 from those drugs was 2842 USD. Interventions that avert one DALY for less than average per capita income for a given country or region are generally considered to be very cost–effective; Canada's per capita GDP was 42,158 USD in 2016, so our estimates indicate that the new drugs launched during 1986–2001 were very cost–effective, overall. Due to data limitations, we were unable to control for non-pharmaceutical medical innovations. Evidence from previous studies suggests that this is unlikely to cause significant bias in our estimates, because (1) the vast majority (88%) of private U.S. biomedical research funding came from pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, and (2) non-pharmaceutical medical innovation does not appear to be positively correlated across diseases with pharmaceutical innovation. But, arguendo, suppose that drugs launched during 1986–2001 reduced the number of DALYs lost in 2016 by half as much as we estimated: by 1.155 million, instead of 2.31 million, and that the other half was due to new medical devices. Then 2016 expenditure on those drugs per 2016 DALY reduction would be twice as high as we estimated: $5684, instead of $2842. Even this higher figure would indicate that the new drugs launched during 1986–2001 were very cost–effective in 2016. Moreover, 2842 USD may be an overestimate of the true net cost in 2016 per DALY of drugs launched during 1986–2001. A previous study based on U.S. data showed that about 25% of the cost of new drugs is offset by reduced expenditure on old drugs. Also, our estimates indicated that, if no drugs had been launched during 1986–2001, the average length of 2016 hospital stays would have been about 16% higher. The reduction in hospital expenditure due to shorter average length of stay may have been larger than the expenditure on the drugs responsible for shorter hospital stays.

Funding

This article is based on a research report commissioned and funded by Merck Canada Inc.
Appendix Table 1

Age-standardized rates (per 100,000 population) of Disability-Adjusted Life-Years lost (DALYs), Years of Life Lost (YLLs), and Years of Healthy Life Lost due to Disability (YLDs), by cause, Canada, 2000 and 2016.

WHO Global Health Estimates causeDALY
YLL
YLD
200020162000201620002016
0 All Causes25,087.321,463.014,818.311,121.210,269.010,341.9
10 Communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions1,181.71,142.7824.4757.2357.3385.5
20 Infectious and parasitic diseases340.8304.5273.1230.467.774.1
30 Tuberculosis11.05.99.95.01.10.9
40 STDs excluding HIV14.516.51.32.613.213.9
50 Syphilis2.64.40.42.12.22.3
60 Chlamydia2.12.10.20.11.92.0
70 Gonorrhoea1.61.50.50.31.11.2
80 Trichomoniasis3.33.40.00.03.33.4
85 Genital herpes2.62.70.00.02.62.7
90 Other STDs2.42.40.20.12.22.2
100 HIV/AIDS107.959.585.032.422.927.1
110 Diarrhoeal diseases26.666.213.450.913.315.3
120 Childhood-cluster diseases2.11.21.20.40.90.8
130 Whooping cough1.81.00.90.30.90.8
140 Diphtheria0.00.00.00.00.00.0
150 Measles0.20.10.20.10.00.0
160 Tetanus0.00.00.00.00.00.0
170 Meningitis19.811.816.78.43.13.4
180 Encephalitis25.325.321.821.33.53.9
185 Hepatitis22.011.420.310.71.70.6
186 Acute hepatitis A5.22.04.51.70.80.3
190 Acute hepatitis B7.55.76.75.40.80.3
200 Acute hepatitis C0.00.00.00.00.00.0
205 Acute hepatitis E9.23.79.13.70.10.0
210 Parasitic and vector diseases2.20.91.60.30.70.5
220 Malaria0.00.00.00.00.00.0
230 African trypanosomiasis0.00.00.00.00.00.0
240 Chagas disease0.20.20.00.00.20.2
250 Schistosomiasis0.00.00.00.00.00.0
260 Leishmaniasis0.00.00.00.00.00.0
270 Lymphatic filariasis0.00.00.00.00.00.0
280 Onchocerciasis0.00.00.00.00.00.0
285 Cysticercosis1.10.10.90.00.20.1
295 Echinococcosis0.90.30.60.00.20.3
300 Dengue0.00.00.00.00.00.0
310 Trachoma0.00.00.00.00.00.0
315 Yellow fever0.00.00.00.00.00.0
320 Rabies0.10.20.10.20.00.0
330 Intestinal nematode infections0.00.00.00.00.00.0
340 Ascariasis0.00.00.00.00.00.0
350 Trichuriasis0.00.00.00.00.00.0
360 Hookworm disease0.00.00.00.00.00.0
362 Food-bourne trematodes0.00.00.00.00.00.0
365 Leprosy0.00.00.00.00.00.0
370 Other infectious diseases109.3105.9102.098.37.47.6
380 Respiratory infections376.1348.3245.3218.0130.7130.3
390 Lower respiratory infections248.2220.4243.8216.04.34.4
400 Upper respiratory infections102.2103.20.91.5101.3101.6
410 Otitis media25.724.80.60.525.124.3
420 Maternal conditions7.66.56.04.81.51.6
490 Neonatal conditions383.5415.2278.4287.7105.1127.5
500 Preterm birth complications226.7242.1156.7150.970.091.2
510 Birth asphyxia and birth trauma75.768.759.350.416.418.3
520 Neonatal sepsis and infections28.928.413.914.615.013.8
530 Other neonatal conditions52.176.048.571.83.64.2
540 Nutritional deficiencies73.868.321.516.352.252.0
550 Protein-energy malnutrition12.911.88.56.64.45.1
560 Iodine deficiency12.312.40.00.012.312.3
570 Vitamin A deficiency0.00.00.00.00.00.0
580 Iron-deficiency anaemia45.542.710.18.435.534.3
590 Other nutritional deficiencies3.11.42.91.20.10.2
600 Noncommunicable diseases21,373.318,102.512,347.79,052.09,025.79,050.6
610 Malignant neoplasms4,885.63,750.24,734.13,601.0151.5149.2
620 Mouth and oropharynx cancers87.374.784.172.03.22.7
621 Lip and oral cavity44.939.242.637.42.31.8
622 Nasopharynx10.98.010.67.80.30.2
623 Other pharynx31.527.530.926.90.70.6
630 Oesophagus cancer122.0102.9120.7101.71.31.3
640 Stomach cancer162.5107.3158.3103.54.33.8
650 Colon and rectum cancers536.3427.1516.5408.519.818.6
660 Liver cancer100.5127.599.6126.01.01.5
661 Liver cancer secondary to hepatitis B16.621.016.520.80.10.1
662 Liver cancer secondary to hepatitis C36.647.636.547.40.10.2
663 Liver cancer secondary to alcohol use30.838.730.538.20.40.5
664 Other liver cancer16.520.316.019.60.40.7
670 Pancreas cancer222.9204.8220.7202.62.32.2
680 Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers1,261.9943.21,247.8930.014.113.2
690 Melanoma and other skin cancers91.688.686.882.54.86.0
691 Malignant skin melanoma78.872.274.366.84.55.3
692 Non-melanoma skin cancer12.816.412.515.70.30.7
700 Breast cancer484.8326.9456.5300.928.426.0
710 Cervix uteri cancer41.934.839.732.92.21.9
720 Corpus uteri cancer60.760.456.855.83.84.6
730 Ovary cancer115.591.4112.388.63.22.8
740 Prostate cancer244.3159.9220.6138.823.721.1
742 Testicular cancer7.57.86.66.70.91.1
745 Kidney cancer117.393.3113.889.83.53.4
750 Bladder cancer107.789.3101.583.36.26.0
751 Brain and nervous system cancers183.6166.4181.2163.62.42.8
752 Gallbladder and biliary tract cancer38.924.237.923.51.00.7
753 Larynx cancer44.722.243.221.01.51.2
754 Thyroid cancer12.212.410.110.02.12.3
755 Mesothelioma26.622.326.121.80.50.5
760 Lymphomas, multiple myeloma336.5229.0326.0216.810.512.2
761 Hodgkin lymphoma18.212.517.011.11.21.4
762 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma233.5145.6226.8137.56.78.1
763 Multiple myeloma84.970.982.268.12.72.8
770 Leukaemia192.9153.2186.3145.96.67.3
780 Other malignant neoplasms285.4180.6281.1174.84.35.8
790 Other neoplasms107.575.898.764.38.811.5
800 Diabetes mellitus851.9699.9414.5282.8437.5417.1
810 Endocrine, blood, immune disorders230.9232.1162.2159.568.772.6
811 Thalassaemias10.010.31.51.18.59.2
812 Sickle cell disorders and trait4.04.21.61.72.42.5
813 Other haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias19.213.417.111.62.11.8
814 Other endocrine, blood and immune disorders197.7204.2142.0145.155.859.1
820 Mental and substance use disorders2,848.62,973.0278.1293.52,570.52,679.4
830 Depressive disorders662.0633.00.00.0662.0633.0
831 Major depressive disorder499.3469.00.00.0499.3469.0
832 Dysthymia162.7164.00.00.0162.7164.0
840 Bipolar disorder176.4171.31.31.1175.1170.3
850 Schizophrenia226.9225.38.84.3218.1220.9
860 Alcohol use disorders280.5272.594.177.4186.4195.1
870 Drug use disorders536.6627.1164.8204.7371.7422.4
871 Opioid use disorders348.0419.3120.7142.3227.2277.0
872 Cocaine use disorders61.172.713.522.147.650.6
873 Amphetamine use disorders19.423.64.77.814.615.8
874 Cannabis use disorders31.024.20.00.031.024.2
875 Other drug use disorders77.187.425.932.551.254.9
880 Anxiety disorders482.4513.50.00.0482.4513.5
890 Eating disorders54.860.52.83.652.156.9
900 Autism and Asperger syndrome138.9140.40.00.0138.9140.4
910 Childhood behavioural disorders79.978.90.00.079.978.9
911 Attention deficit/hyperactivity syndrome12.312.20.00.012.312.2
912 Conduct disorder67.566.70.00.067.566.7
920 Idiopathic intellectual disability32.670.36.42.526.367.8
930 Other mental and behavioural disorders177.7180.30.00.0177.7180.3
940 Neurological conditions1,596.61,761.2706.3874.6890.3886.5
950 Alzheimer disease and other dementias501.6708.7371.5559.2130.1149.5
960 Parkinson disease90.995.865.870.025.225.8
970 Epilepsy96.787.134.333.362.453.7
980 Multiple sclerosis86.088.543.535.742.452.8
990 Migraine507.9480.40.00.0507.9480.4
1000 Non-migraine headache102.299.50.00.0102.299.5
1010 Other neurological conditions211.2201.2191.1176.420.124.8
1020 Sense organ diseases893.3911.00.60.6892.7910.5
1030 Glaucoma8.08.00.10.08.08.0
1040 Cataracts29.915.50.00.029.915.5
1050 Uncorrected refractive errors161.3164.20.00.0161.3164.2
1060 Macular degeneration12.811.00.00.012.811.0
1070 Other vision loss46.137.50.00.046.137.5
1080 Other hearing loss530.4569.30.00.0530.4569.2
1090 Other sense organ disorders104.8105.60.50.6104.3105.0
1100 Cardiovascular diseases4,654.42,733.94,049.12,200.5605.3533.3
1110 Rheumatic heart disease28.519.526.417.72.11.8
1120 Hypertensive heart disease58.162.247.552.710.69.5
1130 Ischaemic heart disease2,769.01,416.02,668.81,331.7100.284.3
1140 Stroke985.7609.9761.5400.9224.2209.0
1141 Ischaemic stroke639.4391.5450.1220.2189.3171.3
1142 Haemorrhagic stroke346.2218.4311.4180.734.937.8
1150 Cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, endocarditis130.7103.3114.889.515.913.8
1160 Other circulatory diseases682.5523.0430.0308.1252.4214.9
1170 Respiratory diseases1,147.6992.7743.9611.5403.8381.2
1180 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease664.4540.8583.6455.880.885.0
1190 Asthma337.8296.927.015.1310.7281.9
1200 Other respiratory diseases145.4155.0133.2140.612.214.4
1210 Digestive diseases637.6592.5553.6504.684.088.0
1220 Peptic ulcer disease37.533.524.519.013.014.5
1230 Cirrhosis of the liver232.1251.8215.3234.516.817.3
1231 Cirrhosis due to hepatitis B30.434.029.232.81.21.2
1232 Cirrhosis due to hepatitis C54.557.150.052.54.54.6
1233 Cirrhosis due to alcohol use98.7106.192.599.66.36.4
1234 Other liver cirrhosis48.654.743.649.64.95.1
1240 Appendicitis3.83.32.72.21.11.1
1241 Gastritis and duodenitis19.520.23.83.015.617.2
1242 Paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction32.031.330.930.11.11.2
1244 Inflammatory bowel disease27.618.118.28.89.49.4
1246 Gallbladder and biliary diseases27.225.922.721.14.64.8
1248 Pancreatitis29.625.225.921.33.73.9
1250 Other digestive diseases228.3183.1209.6164.618.718.6
1260 Genitourinary diseases502.7447.1217.4159.8285.2287.3
1270 Kidney diseases284.6218.3179.8113.8104.8104.5
1271 Acute glomerulonephritis0.40.30.40.30.00.0
1272 Chronic kidney disease due to diabetes141.1103.687.150.754.052.9
1273 Other chronic kidney disease143.0114.492.362.850.751.6
1280 Benign prostatic hyperplasia61.763.51.92.759.860.8
1290 Urolithiasis5.96.51.41.94.54.6
1300 Other urinary diseases40.947.333.940.76.96.6
1310 Infertility9.79.60.00.09.79.6
1320 Gynecological diseases100.0101.90.40.799.5101.2
1330 Skin diseases308.4313.715.617.1292.8296.6
1340 Musculoskeletal diseases1,964.11,950.883.470.71,880.71,880.1
1350 Rheumatoid arthritis105.3116.816.511.288.9105.6
1360 Osteoarthritis245.4251.86.14.2239.4247.7
1370 Gout30.230.80.40.529.930.4
1380 Back and neck pain893.5872.52.23.3891.3869.2
1390 Other musculoskeletal disorders689.7678.958.351.7631.3627.2
1400 Congenital anomalies366.4307.3254.6192.5111.8114.7
1410 Neural tube defects25.922.312.28.013.714.3
1420 Cleft lip and cleft palate0.90.80.10.10.80.8
1430 Down syndrome23.828.516.120.87.77.7
1440 Congenital heart anomalies115.373.3102.059.913.313.5
1450 Other chromosomal anomalies45.347.532.835.312.512.2
1460 Other congenital anomalies155.2134.891.468.663.866.2
1470 Oral conditions342.7343.60.61.3342.1342.4
1480 Dental caries27.126.90.00.027.126.9
1490 Periodontal disease82.883.60.10.182.783.6
1500 Edentulism175.7175.00.10.1175.6174.9
1502 Other oral disorders57.158.10.51.156.656.9
1505 Sudden infant death syndrome35.017.635.017.60.00.0
Appendix Table 2

Number of (WHO ATC5) chemical substances ever launched, by cause, Canada, 1980–2016.

WHO Global Health Estimates cause1980198619921998200420102016
All chemical substances828103312761614182520002232
30 Tuberculosis10101015151515
50 Syphilis4445555
60 Chlamydia5555555
70 Gonorrhoea671010101111
80 Trichomoniasis2333333
85 Genital herpes0224444
90 Other STDs1222344
100 HIV/AIDS01515253440
110 Diarrhoeal diseases15172022232526
130 Whooping cough3445555
140 Diphtheria4667777
150 Measles2445555
160 Tetanus8101011111111
170 Meningitis10172022252728
180 Encephalitis0001122
186 Acute hepatitis A1113444
190 Acute hepatitis B1357101212
200 Acute hepatitis C02336615
220 Malaria5569999
230 African trypanosomiasis0011111
250 Schistosomiasis0001111
260 Leishmaniasis1122222
270 Lymphatic filariasis0111111
280 Onchocerciasis0111111
295 Echinococcosis0111111
310 Trachoma1111111
315 Yellow fever1111111
320 Rabies0222222
340 Ascariasis2233333
360 Hookworm disease1122222
362 Food-bourne trematodes3334444
365 Leprosy2222233
370 Other infectious diseases88109127158169177177
390 Lower respiratory infections37455662707575
400 Upper respiratory infections47536268707273
410 Otitis media18202525262727
420 Maternal conditions21273437383940
500 Preterm birth complications4488899
530 Other neonatal conditions11121414141414
550 Protein-energy malnutrition2222333
560 Iodine deficiency4445555
570 Vitamin A deficiency8999999
580 Iron-deficiency anaemia556671010
590 Other nutritional deficiencies39424547484949
620 Mouth and oropharynx cancers1334444
630 Oesophagus cancer1446666
640 Stomach cancer2457889
650 Colon and rectum cancers333661215
660 Liver cancer0112233
670 Pancreas cancer13566910
680 Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers5111319212330
691 Malignant skin melanoma34555512
692 Non-melanoma skin cancer0000111
700 Breast cancer8141828323540
710 Cervix uteri cancer1345588
720 Corpus uteri cancer0111111
730 Ovary cancer6101317171920
740 Prostate cancer25812131519
742 Testicular cancer3577777
745 Kidney cancer1244467
750 Bladder cancer691112121212
751 Brain and nervous system cancers11121212131314
752 Gallbladder and biliary tract cancer0001111
754 Thyroid cancer0000013
755 Mesothelioma2344466
761 Hodgkin lymphoma11151717171720
762 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma16242828293442
763 Multiple myeloma9131515151824
770 Leukaemia16232832354152
800 Diabetes mellitus781324354548
811 Thalassaemias0000012
812 Sickle cell disorders and trait2222222
813 Other haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias8899111515
814 Other endocrine, blood and immune disorders84101125149179199216
830 Depressive disorders10131923262728
840 Bipolar disorder67711111213
850 Schizophrenia15161722222525
860 Alcohol use disorders11131414141515
871 Opioid use disorders0012344
880 Anxiety disorders16192426283030
890 Eating disorders781111111111
900 Autism and Asperger syndrome2222222
911 Attention deficit/hyperactivity syndrome1222333
912 Conduct disorder0001111
920 Idiopathic intellectual disability0001111
930 Other mental and behavioural disorders27303749576061
950 Alzheimer disease and other dementias0000111
960 Parkinson disease781115172021
970 Epilepsy15151621232629
980 Multiple sclerosis791216171924
990 Migraine13131518222222
1000 Non-migraine headache891010111212
1010 Other neurological conditions28313545495355
1030 Glaucoma7101318202022
1040 Cataracts1111111
1050 Uncorrected refractive errors2233455
1060 Macular degeneration0000145
1070 Other vision loss11131314161920
1080 Other hearing loss1111111
1090 Other sense organ disorders45526173798283
1110 Rheumatic heart disease12121214141414
1120 Hypertensive heart disease22314460697580
1130 Ischaemic heart disease17243245525558
1140 Stroke461014151719
1150 Cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, endocarditis18232626262727
1160 Other circulatory diseases597592115128137145
1180 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease33364755606269
1190 Asthma19212733383940
1200 Other respiratory diseases44537280848794
1220 Peptic ulcer disease481316191919
1230 Cirrhosis of the liver5678121419
1241 Gastritis and duodenitis0011111
1242 Paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction1222222
1244 Inflammatory bowel disease891113151617
1246 Gallbladder and biliary diseases5568888
1248 Pancreatitis4455555
1250 Other digestive diseases587188102104106112
1270 Kidney diseases26344454596366
1280 Benign prostatic hyperplasia12569911
1290 Urolithiasis7777777
1300 Other urinary diseases40496073788286
1310 Infertility55710111112
1320 Gynecological diseases22272931363943
1330 Skin diseases94111132149171181191
1350 Rheumatoid arthritis20242528384344
1360 Osteoarthritis15181921252525
1370 Gout6666677
1380 Back and neck pain19222428343637
1390 Other musculoskeletal disorders57687991105115118
1410 Neural tube defects1111111
1440 Congenital heart anomalies0000112
1450 Other chromosomal anomalies0011111
1460 Other congenital anomalies791112121315
1480 Dental caries4455555
1490 Periodontal disease9101314141515
1502 Other oral disorders16202326262727
Appendix Table 3

Number of hospital discharges and average length of stay (in days), by cause, Canada, 2000 and 2016.

CauseNumber of hospital discharges
Average length of stay
2000201620002016
0000 All causes28,85,06230,57,5037.28.1
0101 Intestinal infectious diseases except diarrhoea14,13116,8014.87.1
0103 Tuberculosis1,0151,03920.221.8
0104 Septicaemia9,23026,59011.112.2
0105 Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease1,65294413.416.4
0106 Other infectious and parasitic diseases16,52220,8356.28.1
0200 Neoplasms2,15,4142,02,3109.68.4
0201 Malignant neoplasm of colon, rectum and anus22,08122,34713.710.3
0202 Malignant neoplasms of trachea, bronchus and lung22,20418,85112.210.7
0203 Malignant neoplasms of skin1,9912,0126.36.9
0204 Malignant neoplasm of breast17,7969,8224.54.2
0205 Malignant neoplasm of uterus5,7307,4246.44.3
0206 Malignant neoplasm of ovary3,2703,02111.07.8
0207 Malignant neoplasm of prostate12,48510,4917.14.7
0208 Malignant neoplasm of bladder10,2148,2816.06.2
0209 Other malignant neoplasms74,07882,08213.011.0
0210 Carcinoma in situ3,5613,5553.73.2
0211 Benign neoplasm of colon, rectum and anus2,2533,0467.45.7
0212 Leiomyoma of uterus18,5149,9343.62.1
0213 Other benign neoplasms and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behaviour21,23721,4445.95.2
0300 Diseases of the blood and bloodforming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism25,68827,9846.46.6
0301 Anaemias13,96014,9096.86.5
0302 Other diseases of the blood and bloodforming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism11,72813,0756.06.7
0400 Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases64,57378,5808.27.8
0401 Diabetes mellitus30,02137,12710.09.9
0402 Other endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases34,55241,4536.75.9
0600 Diseases of the nervous system43,65259,43111.614.0
0602 Multiple sclerosis1,8561,42515.716.5
0603 Epilepsy7,88913,0775.76.5
0604 Transient cerebral ischaemic attacks and related syndromes10,9709,0575.74.5
0605 Other diseases of the nervous system20,14530,39613.614.4
0700 Diseases of the eye and adnexa15,4365,8982.33.3
0701 Cataract1,6622202.02.0
0702 Other diseases of the eye and adnexa13,7745,6782.33.3
0800 Diseases of the ear and mastoid process11,9028,5342.73.1
0900 Diseases of the circulatory system4,34,5323,80,7378.78.0
0901 Hypertensive diseases12,3346,5948.55.6
0903 Acute myocardial infarction64,92071,9098.45.2
0905 Pulmonary heart disease & diseases of pulmonary circulation7,72512,2549.27.5
0906 Conduction disorders and cardiac arrhythmias54,46353,8725.15.2
0907 Heart failure60,32165,51010.110.1
0908 Cerebrovascular diseases52,95453,04916.713.2
0909 Atherosclerosis7,1356,83111.910.8
0910 Varicose veins of lower extremities2,4041,0465.711.7
0911 Other diseases of the circulatory system49,29455,7329.18.7
1000 Diseases of the respiratory system2,57,5722,72,3156.67.4
1001 Acute upper respiratory infections and influenza17,87522,7042.74.6
1002 Pneumonia78,93867,9747.97.4
1003 Other acute lower respiratory infections20,21517,1193.73.7
1004 Chronic diseases of tonsils and adenoids12,2835,8581.21.1
1005 Other diseases of upper respiratory tract11,0388,1522.42.7
1006 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchiectasis55,75789,8979.28.1
1007 Asthma31,01011,4433.52.9
1008 Other diseases of the respiratory system30,45649,1689.911.4
1101 Disorders of teeth and supporting structures6,7685,8262.21.8
1102 Other diseases of oral cavity, salivary glands and jaws2,7332,8933.74.5
1103 Diseases of oesophagus10,6817,8775.25.6
1104 Peptic ulcer11,1499,6927.37.3
1105 Dyspepsia and other diseases of stomach and duodenum13,6577,3784.96.4
1106 Diseases of appendix29,73738,5813.62.4
1107 Inguinal hernia20,70210,7142.53.2
1108 Other abdominal hernia17,44617,9854.34.5
1109 Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis12,58610,0999.27.8
1111 Paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction without hernia25,37430,1237.57.0
1112 Diverticular disease of intestine19,12718,3587.36.2
1113 Diseases of anus and rectum8,5129,2634.24.4
1114 Other diseases of intestine12,73114,5158.38.4
1115 Alcoholic liver disease4,7556,18511.912.5
1116 Other diseases of liver6,8029,91111.511.2
1117 Cholelithiasis49,08033,6063.74.0
1118 Other diseases of gall bladder and biliary tract10,08013,0675.76.0
1119 Diseases of pancreas16,03724,0218.36.2
1120 Other diseases of the digestive system18,33725,7817.36.9
1200 Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue31,04333,6137.99.3
1201 Infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissue23,47826,6346.67.9
1202 Dermatitis, eczema and papulosquamous disorders1,6161,7445.45.7
1203 Other diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue5,9495,23513.717.2
1300 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue1,30,7201,87,4837.05.7
1301 Coxarthrosis [arthrosis of hip].36,682.3.6
1302 Gonarthrosis [arthrosis of knee].62,850.3.5
1303 Internal derangement of knee4,1231,0281.71.6
1305 Systemic connective tissue disorders3,6993,33712.210.7
1306 Deforming dorsopathies and spondylopathies7,87315,6258.88.4
1307 Intervertebral disc disorders15,72610,8465.35.4
1308 Dorsalgia7,2977,7766.37.6
1309 Soft tissue disorders13,98512,2524.29.4
1310 Other disorders of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue23,48916,8059.011.7
1400 Diseases of the genitourinary system1,77,2741,64,4584.35.2
1401 Glomerular and renal tubulo-interstitial diseases16,73124,2095.24.9
1402 Renal failure11,72323,90512.910.0
1403 Urolithiasis25,43815,0872.72.4
1404 Other diseases of the urinary system30,80540,7095.47.6
1405 Hyperplasia of prostate15,51213,4953.52.5
1406 Other diseases of male genital organs5,4244,2073.24.5
1407 Disorders of breast10,0732,4591.51.7
1408 Inflammatory diseases of female pelvic organs6,3453,5893.53.8
1409 Menstrual, menopausal and other female genital conditions19,07213,0153.01.8
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