Burden of narcolepsy in Japan: A health claims database study evaluating direct medical costs and comorbidities

JMDC, Inc. (JMDC) has created a database, using data collected from health insurance societies in Japan, consisting of ledgers of insureds, claims (for hospitalization, outpatient treatment, drug preparation, and dental treatment), and health checkup results. The earliest data are from the claims in January 2005, except dental claims from December 2009 and health checkup results from April 2008. Currently (the end of June 2020), the number of insureds included is approximately 9.8 million. This database is unique for Japan and has the following characteristics: (a) the basic population can be ascertained; (b) standardization is carried out using a dictionary; and (c) anonymized individual IDs can be followed on the basis of a time‐series over various periods, with the earliest starting date being January 2005. However, it has certain limitations, in that the disease status and test results cannot be ascertained, and there is insufficient access to data for elderly people. JMDC, Inc. (JMDC) has created a database, using data collected from health insurance societies in Japan, consisting of ledgers of insureds, claims (for hospitalization, outpatient treatment, drug preparation, and dental treatment), and health checkup results. This database is unique for Japan and has the following characteristics: (a) the basic population can be ascertained; (b) standardization is carried out using a dictionary; and (c) anonymized individual IDs can be followed on the basis of a time‐series over various periods, with the earliest starting date being January 2005 Show more

Narcolepsy, a chronic neurologic condition resulting from dysregulation of the sleep-wake cycle, usually has an onset at an early age. However, a long delay until diagnosis has been consistently reported in the literature across countries and several publications have focused on characterizing this delay. Most studies report a mean delay to diagnosis of up to 15 years, with individual cases of >60 years, although a trend over time toward a shorter diagnostic delay has been suggested. While variables associated with this delay have been identified, a lack of symptom recognition resulting in misdiagnosis prior to reaching the narcolepsy diagnosis is the likely underlying reason. This lack of symptom recognition is especially relevant considering the high comorbidity burden that has been shown in patients with narcolepsy as some disorders manifest with symptoms that overlap with narcolepsy. A consequence of delayed diagnosis is delayed treatment, which affects the burden of disease. Substantial detrimental effects on health-care resource utilization, employment, and quality of life have been described after narcolepsy onset and prior to the diagnosis of narcolepsy. This review highlights the importance of closing the diagnostic gap by expanding awareness of narcolepsy and its symptoms. Show more