Direct incremental healthcare costs associated with mood disorders in the United States, 2007–2017

•Mood disorders account for $172 billion in direct incremental expenditure annually•Mood disorders account for $6,591.60 in per-patient expenditure annually•Outpatient and prescription medication spending for mood disorders increased•Inpatient spending for mood disorders decreased while ED spending remained stable This study provides nationally representative estimates of the direct incremental economic burden of mood disorders in the United States between 2007–2017, and examines trends in spending on mood disorders by healthcare setting over time. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) was used to analyze nationally-representative data related to healthcare expenditures between 2007–2017. A two-part regression model was used to estimate healthcare expenditures for patients with mood disorders compared to those without, adjusting for several sociodemographic and health-related factors. Total annual healthcare costs for patients with mood disorders were over twice as high as for those without, even after adjusting for potential confounders. A mood disorder diagnosis independently accounted for $6,591.60 in additional annual healthcare spending over this period. While healthcare spending on mood disorders increased significantly in the outpatient setting (14%), home health setting (84%), and on prescription medications (17%), it decreased in the inpatient setting and remained stable for emergency care. Study limitations include an inability to determine specific components of cost in each setting, analyze costs for distinct depressive and bipolar disorders by four- or five-digit diagnosis code, and the potential for recall bias during data collection. Spending on outpatient care, prescription medications, and home health care for mood disorder patients grew significantly between 2007 and 2017, but decreased for inpatient care and remained stable in the emergency care setting. Future research should examine drivers of spending in these settings and explore ways to improve patient outcomes and stabilize growing healthcare expenditures.