Studies show hypoparathyroidism brings big health, cost burdens
Kidney problems, infections common after surgery
People who develop chronic hypoparathyroidism following surgery are at high risk of kidney problems and infections, and they also tend to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in healthcare costs.
That’s according to two studies led by scientists at Ascendis Pharma, both published in Advances in Therapy. The researchers emphasized the importance of new treatments to better control chronic hypoparathyroidism and prevent long-term complications.
The work was funded by Ascendis, which markets the hypoparathyroidism treatment Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide).
Hypoparathyroidism is marked by low levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), which normally helps regulate levels of calcium and other nutrients in the body. Chronic or long-lasting hypoparathyroidism often develops following surgery in the neck that can damage the parathyroid glands, and it can cause a range of hypoparathyroidism symptoms, including neurological issues and muscle problems.
The Ascendis-led team conducted two analyses using data from Medicare — the government-funded program that provides health insurance to disabled and older Americans — to look at how chronic hypoparathyroidism affects health and economic outcomes.
Researchers call for more replacement therapies
In both studies, the researchers identified 607 people who developed chronic hypoparathyroidism after surgery. Outcomes from these patients were compared against outcomes from 1,107 people who did not have hypoparathyroidism but were similar in terms of demographic factors like age and sex.
One study, “Risk of Cardiovascular Events, Infections, and Renal Complications in Postsurgical Chronic Hypoparathyroidism: A US Medicare Claims Retrospective Analysis,” looked at health outcomes.
Results showed that hypoparathyroidism patients were more than four times more likely to have kidney complications. The hypoparathyroidism patients were also at significantly elevated risk of urinary tract infections and upper respiratory infections.
The scientists said current treatments aren’t doing enough.
“The substantial clinical burden of postsurgical chronic HypoPT [hypoparathyroidism] in individuals highlights the outcome gaps associated with current conventional therapy and further demonstrates the need for PTH replacement therapies to address those gaps,” they wrote.
The other study, “Economic Burden of Postsurgical Chronic Hypoparathyroidism: A US Medicare Claims Retrospective Analysis,” looked at healthcare use and costs.
The economic analysis results showed that total healthcare costs for people with chronic hypoparathyroidism were $227,036 per patient per year — more than double the cost for people without hypoparathyroidism. The increase in total costs was largely driven by the fact that hypoparathyroidism patients had substantially more hospitalizations and outpatient visits with clinicians.
“Our study found that patients with postsurgical chronic HypoPT were hospitalized twice as often as controls without HypoPT and that the all-cause [healthcare resource utilization] burden was notably higher among these patients,” the researchers wrote.
The scientists also noted that costs were especially high in hypoparathyroidism patients who also had other health complications, like kidney disease. “This highlights the substantial impact of long-term complications on the economic burden of postsurgical chronic HypoPT extending beyond the disease’s direct impact,” the researchers wrote.
The data emphasize “the need for parathyroid hormone replacement therapy and innovative treatment options that normalize calcium/phosphate balance, reduce symptom burden and long-term complications, and improve health-related quality of life,” the scientists concluded.
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