Researchers put a price tag on alcohol use

Date:
June 9, 2020
Source:
University of Eastern Finland
Summary:
Alcohol use disorders are associated with high social welfare and
health care costs -- but what causes them? A new new study looks
at the magnitude and reasons behind the economic burden alcohol
use disorders have on society.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Alcohol use disorders are associated with high social welfare and health
care costs -- but what causes them? A new Finnish study looks at the
magnitude and reasons behind the economic burden alcohol use disorders
have on society.


========================================================================== Earlier studies have shown that alcohol use disorders lead to various
health and social problems, which cause an increase in the need and
use of various services. However, the magnitude and distribution of the
related costs have not been studied before.

Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland used a machine learning technique that is based on a Bayesian network model to analyse causal relationships between different risk factors and the costs associated
with them. The analysis included a total of 16 risk factors, including socioeconomic variables such as age, gender, marital status, unemployment status, and social problems like homelessness, illicit drug use, criminal record, and drunk driving. The researchers also looked at what happens
when a patient goes into remission, i.e., stops drinking altogether.

Funded by the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland, the
study was carried in collaboration between researchers at the University
of Eastern Finland, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, and
Aalto University.

They used a novel approach to control for confounding factors, allowing
them to calculate a rough price tag for each risk factor.

The study population comprised 363 Finnish alcohol use disorder patients diagnosed in 2011-2012. Their data were collected from various patient information systems and social welfare databases over a period of
five years.

Surprisingly, the number of diagnoses of chronic conditions played the
biggest role in the overall cumulation of costs in patients with alcohol
use disorder.

In patients with at least two chronic conditions, the average 5-year
costs of care were 26,000 euros (around 30,000 US dollars) higher than in patients without multiple diagnoses. The costs of care were also increased
by earlier use of specialized care (and its high costs), receiving income support, and being over 55 years old. In addition, drug use, homelessness
and the number of psychiatric diagnoses also increased the costs of
care. Sustained abstinence, on the other hand, lowered the costs. A
model created by the researchers shows that roughly 43% of alcohol use
disorder patients who quit drinking belong to the lowest cost quartile, compared with the respective figure of 24% for current drinkers.

The findings shed light on how the cumulation of health and social
problems increases the costs of social welfare and health care services.

"Since sustained abstinence reduces the costs of care, it would be
wise to develop rehabilitation services and provide easy access to
care. In addition, people with alcohol use disorders should also get
better treatment for their non-alcohol related conditions," Early Stage Researcher and lead author of the article Elina Rautiainen from the
University of Eastern Finland says.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Eastern_Finland. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Elina Rautiainen, Olli-Pekka Ryyna"nen, Tiina Laatikainen, Pekka
Kekolahti. Factors Associated with 5-Year Costs of Care among
a Cohort of Alcohol Use Disorder Patients: A Bayesian Network
Model. Healthcare Informatics Research, 2020; 26 (2): 129 DOI:
10.4258/hir.2020.26.2.129 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200609095018.htm

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