School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany.
Centre for Health Economic Research Hanover (CHERH), Leibniz University Hanover, Hanover, Germany.
BMC Public Health. 2019 Aug 13;19(1):1090. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7458-x.
Seasonal influenza contributes substantially to the burden of communicable diseases in Europe, especially among paediatric populations and the elderly. The aim of the present study was to estimate the incidence of seasonal influenza in Germany, the probabilities of related complications and the economic burden of influenza per case and on a population level for different age groups.
Claims data from 2012 to 2014 from > 8 million insured of a large German sick-ness fund were analysed. A matched case control study was used on a sub-sample of 100,000 influenza cases to calculate complication rates for ear infections/acute otitis media (AOM) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) as well as resource use and costs for seven age groups.
Incidence of seasonal influenza varies between the years and is highest among infants and children 2 to 5 years of age. AOM is more likely in the younger age groups with up to 14% more patients in the influenza group than in the control group. CAP is more frequently observed in the younger age groups and in influenza patients 60 years and older. The manifestation of one influenza complication (AOM or CAP) significantly in-creases the occurrence of a second complication (AOM or CAP). The economic burden per case is highest in infants (€251.91) and persons over 60 years of age (€131.59).
The burden of influenza is highest among infants and young children, which is also reflected in the economic burden. Influenza related costs per case are nearly double for infants compared to persons over 60 years of age.
季节性流感在欧洲对传染病负担有重大影响，尤其是在儿科人群和老年人中。本研究的目的是估计德国季节性流感的发病率、相关并发症的概率以及每例流感和不同年龄组人群的流感经济负担。
分析了 2012 年至 2014 年来自一家大型德国疾病基金的超过 800 万被保险人的索赔数据。在 100,000 例流感病例的子样本中使用匹配病例对照研究来计算耳部感染/急性中耳炎（AOM）和社区获得性肺炎（CAP）的并发症发生率，以及七个年龄组的资源利用和成本。
季节性流感的发病率在不同年份有所不同，2 至 5 岁的婴儿和儿童发病率最高。AOM 在年龄较小的人群中更常见，流感组中多达 14%的患者比对照组中更多。CAP 在年龄较小的人群和 60 岁及以上的流感患者中更为常见。一种流感并发症（AOM 或 CAP）的表现显著增加了第二种并发症（AOM 或 CAP）的发生。每例病例的经济负担在婴儿（251.91 欧元）和 60 岁以上人群（131.59 欧元）中最高。
流感负担在婴儿和幼儿中最高，这也反映在经济负担中。与 60 岁以上人群相比，每例流感相关成本几乎是婴儿的两倍。
