The economic impact of the first 10,000 cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the United States.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a serious, fatal disease affecting a relatively young population and has a great economic impact. Expenditures for hospitalization and economic losses from disability and premature death were estimated for the first 10,000 patients with AIDS reported in the United States. Extrapolation of data from surveys done in New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco suggests that these 10,000 patients with AIDS will require an estimated 1.6 million days in the hospital, resulting in over $1.4 billion in expenditures. Losses incurred for the 8,387 years of work that will be lost from disability and from the premature death of the 10,000 patients will be over $4.8 billion. The total economic burden of the AIDS epidemic will continue to rise as the number of diagnosed cases increases. These estimates reinforce the need for effective disease prevention strategies to reduce the number of cases.