title: Costs of health services utilization of people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder by sex and age group in Alberta, Canada.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the annual health services utilization (HSU) cost per person with FASD by sex and age; the lifetime HSU cost per person with FASD by sex, and the annual HSU cost of FASD for Alberta by sex.
  
  
  METHODS
  The HSU costs of FASD including physician, outpatient, and inpatient services were described by sex and age. The costs per person-year were estimated by multiplying the average number of hospitalizations, outpatient visits, and physician visits per person-year by the average cost of each service. The annual HSU cost of FASD for Alberta was estimated by multiplying the annual HSU cost per person with FASD by the number of people living with FASD in Alberta in 2012. The lifetime HSU cost per person with FASD was estimated by sex for several lifespans ranging from 10 to 70 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The annual cost of HSU for people with FASD in Alberta was $259 million, of which FAS accounted for 26%. The annual HSU cost per person with FAS and FASD were $6,200 and $5,600, respectively. The incremental annual HSU cost per person with FAS is $4,100 and with FASD is $3,400 as compared to the general population. The lifetime (70 years) HSU cost per person with FAS was $506,000 and with FASD was $245,000. Males had higher HSU costs than females. HSU costs of FAS and FASD varied greatly by age group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that FASD is a public health issue in Alberta and can be used for economic evaluations of FASD intervention and/or prevention in the province.
authors: Nguyen Xuan
authors: NX
authors: Thanh
authors: Egon
authors: E
authors: Jonsson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics; D002648:Child; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D016527:Drug Costs; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006302:Health Services Research; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000191:economics; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018803:Models, Economic; D009819:Office Visits / Q000191:economics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult