title: Health care utilization and expenditures for children and young adults with muscular dystrophy in a privately insured population.
abstract: We provide estimates of medical care utilization and expenditures for children and young adults younger than age 30 with muscular dystrophies in the United States. Accurate estimates are essential for calculations of lifetime costs and for economic evaluations of screening and management strategies for muscular dystrophy. We compare the medical expenditures for persons with muscular dystrophy with others by age groups. The incremental annual expenditures of medical care for privately insured individuals with muscular dystrophy relative to others in 2004 averaged $18 930 and ranged from $13 464 at ages 5 to 9 to $32 541 at ages 15 to 19. Individuals with muscular dystrophy had average medical expenditures 10 to 20 times greater than individuals without muscular dystrophy. Individuals aged 15 to 19 years had the highest number of inpatient admissions related to respiratory infections and cardiac complications. The findings underscore the need for appropriate treatment options for individuals with muscular dystrophy as they age.
authors.affiliation: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. louyang@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Lijing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Scott D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Grosse
authors.forename: Aileen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kenneson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006296:Health Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000706:statistics & numerical data