Direct healthcare costs were added to factors such as lost income tax, payment of state benefits and costs of lost productivity.
The researchers calculated that patients incurred healthcare costs of £278m a year. Lost productivity due to early retirement of patients with COPD costs £728m a year, they estimated.
Education for Health chief executive Monica Fletcher said the research had provided a tool to determine the financial implications of COPD.
‘These figures further demonstrate that early diagnosis and management of COPD may enable patients to maintain active and productive lives for longer, thereby helping to reduce the economic burden of the condition and improve patient quality of life,’ she said.
