OBJECTIVES: In economic analyses, productivity losses are often limited to wages lost due to missed work. However, among older adults (OA), risk of severe RSV infection increases with age, where market productivity is limited to those remaining in the workforce. This study estimates market and non-market productivity losses due to RSV cases and premature mortality in US adults aged ≥60 years.
METHODS: To estimate age-specific productivity losses, RSV-relevant time losses were obtained from published data (0.5–1 day for nonmedically-attended RSV cases, 3.3 days for outpatient cases, and 7 days for hospitalized cases). American Time Use Survey data were analyzed to assign these time losses to market productive, non-market productive, or non-productive time, which were then valued at their respective unit costs. Productivity losses due to RSV premature death were obtained from the literature, with total RSV productivity losses estimated using a Markov-cohort model.
RESULTS: OA spend less time performing market productive activities vs. non-market activities (e.g., 1.5% vs. 16.8% for those aged ≥75). Cases of RSV lower respiratory tract disease are associated with market productivity losses that decline with age (from $275 to $32 for adults aged 60–64 vs. ≥75 years) and non-market productivity losses that peak at age 65–74 years ($195). Cases of RSV upper respiratory tract disease also incur significant productivity losses (market: $17–$156; non-market: $74–$114). Discounted lifetime productivity losses due to RSV deaths were highest for the 60–64-year-olds (market: $322,286; non-market: $380,945). Annual productivity losses of RSV acute cases amount to nearly $700 million, with productivity losses due to RSV deaths contributing an additional nearly $4 billion.
CONCLUSION: In addition to the substantial clinical and direct economic burden, RSV causes nearly $4.7 billion in productivity losses among US OA each year. Capturing both market and non-market productivity losses more comprehensively reflects OA’s value to society.
