Cost of disorders of the brain in Norway.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the cost of neurological disorders in Norway.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate the cost of disorders of the brain, including the main psychiatric, neurological and neurosurgical conditions in Norway.


METHODS
Most of the data are extrapolations from a large European cost study that collected the best available epidemiological and health economical evidence for the year 2004. Some epidemiological data are available from Norway, but very little on costs.


RESULTS
Brain disorders seemed to affect 1.5 million Norwegians in 2004, and the total cost amounted to 5.8 billion Euros. The most prevalent disorders are anxiety disorders and migraine, and the most costly are affective disorders, addiction and dementia. Migraine is the most costly of the purely neurological conditions, followed by stroke, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. The indirect costs account for more than half of the total costs.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the different brain disorders are very dissimilar in appearance, from health economic and public health perspectives, it is relevant to view them as a whole, since many of them share important pathophysiological mechanisms. This means that new insights into one disorder can have relevance for many other disorders.


CONCLUSIONS
As a result of the high impact on individuals and society, more resources should be allocated to treatment and research into brain disorders.
Stovner
L J
LJ
Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and St Olavs Hospital, Norwegian National Headache Centre, Trondheim, Norway. lars.stovner@ntnu.no
Gjerstad
L
L
Gilhus
N E
NE
Storstein
A
A
Zwart
J A
JA
D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000639:trends*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence