Economic impact of HIV infection and coronary heart disease in immigrants to Canada.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the direct health care costs of illnesses associated with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and of coronary heart disease (CHD) in immigrants to Canada.


METHODS
Comparative cost analysis.


METHODS
All people who immigrated to Canada in 1988. The numbers with HIV infection and CHD were estimated from country-specific HIV seroprevalence data and national CHD mortality statistics and data from the Framingham study. Health care costs, projected over the 10 years after immigration, were calculated on the basis of data from the Hospital Medical Records Institute and provincial fee schedules.


RESULTS
Of the 161,929 immigrants in 1988, 484 were estimated to be HIV positive. The total cost of treatment of HIV-related illnesses from 1989 to 1998 (discounted at 3%) would be $18.5 million: $17.1 million would be spent on the outpatient and inpatient care of the HIV-positive immigrants, $1.0 million on care of the subsequently infected sexual partners and $0.4 million on care of the HIV-positive children born to seropositive immigrant women. In comparison, CHD would develop in 2558 immigrants during the same 10-year period. The total CHD costs would be $21.6 million: $8.4 million would be spent on treating myocardial infarction, $3.2 million on coronary artery bypass grafting, $1.6 million on pacemaker insertion and $8.4 million on treating other CHD events.


CONCLUSIONS
The economic impact of HIV infection in immigrants to Canada is similar to that of CHD. This comparison identifies an important shortcoming in current immigration policy: economic considerations can be arbitrarily applied to certain diseases, thereby discriminating against specific groups of immigrants.
Zowall
H
H
Centre for the Analysis of Cost-Effective Care, Montreal General Hospital, Que.
Coupal
L
L
Fraser
R D
RD
Gilmore
N
N
Deutsch
A
A
Grover
S A
SA
D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000191:economics*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011287:Prejudice; D015996:Survival Rate