Purpose: To determine the incidence and complications of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) among Medicare beneficiaries.
Methods: Retrospective review of 2003 Medicare Standard Analytic Files utilizing International Classification of Diseases for Oncology ninth edition CM code 238.7 to identify new MDS patients, with 3-year follow-up.
Results: Among 1,394,343 individuals in Medicare Standard Analytic Files age > or = 65 years, 162 per 100,000 were coded as newly diagnosed MDS during 2003 yielding a calculated 45,000 new cases in the United States Medicare > or = 65 years population. Patients with MDS were older (median age, 77 years), and over-represented by males. Among patients with MDS diagnosed during first quarter of 2003, 73.2% suffered cardiac-related events during 3-year follow-up, which exceeded the Medicare population (54.5%; P < .01) even when age adjusted (odds ratio, 2.10; P < .01). Significant increases in prevalence of diabetes (40.0% v 33.1%), dyspnea (49.4% v 28.5%), hepatic diseases (0.8% v 0.2%), and infections (sepsis: 22.5% v 6.1%) were noted in MDS (all P < .01) compared with the Medicare population. Patients with MDS requiring RBC transfusions had greater prevalence of these comorbidities. Acute myeloid leukemia developed within 3 years in 9.6%, with increased transformation among transfused (24.6%; P < .001). The 3-year Kaplan-Meier age-adjusted survival for MDS was 60.0%, which was significantly lower than the Medicare population (84.7%; hazard ratio, 3.08; P < .001), and mortality was further increased among transfused MDS (P < .01). In 2003, median payment for MDS was $16,181, compared to $1,575 for the Medicare population (P < .001).
Conclusion: MDS is a common hematologic malignancy of the elderly, which places patients at risk for comorbid conditions. Transfusion dependency identifies patients with MDS at additional increased risk of organ impairment and shortened survival.