title: The impact of childhood language difficulties on healthcare costs from 4 to 13 years: Australian longitudinal study.
abstract: This study investigated the relationship between children's language difficulties and health care costs using the 2004-2012 Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC).
  
  
  
  Language difficulties were defined as scores ≤1.25SD below the standardised mean on measures of directly assessed receptive vocabulary (4-9 years) and teacher-reported language and literacy (10-13 years). Participant data were individually linked to administrative data, which were sourced from Australia's universal subsidised healthcare scheme (Medicare).
  
  
  
  It was found that healthcare costs over each 2-year age band were higher for children with language difficulties than without in the 4-5-year-age bracket (mean difference = AU$357, 95%CI $59, $659), in the 6-7-year-age bracket (mean difference = AU$602, 95%CI $136, $1068) and in the 10-11-year-age bracket (mean difference = AU$504, 95%CI $153, $854). Out-of-pocket costs, that is the portion of healthcare costs paid for by the family, were also higher for children with than without language difficulties in the 4-5-year-age bracket (mean difference = AU$123, 95%CI $46, $199), in the 6-7-year-age bracket (mean difference = AU$176, 95%CI $74,278) and in the 10-11-year-age bracket (mean difference = AU$79, 95%CI $6, $152). Medical services accounted for 97% of total healthcare cost differences.
  
  
  
  Overall the findings from this study suggest that language difficulties are associated with increased healthcare costs at key developmental milestones, notably early childhood and as a child approaches the teenage years.
authors.affiliation: a Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE), University of Technology Sydney , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cronin
authors.affiliation: a Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE), University of Technology Sydney , Sydney , Australia.|b Centre for Social Impact (CSI), UNSW , Sydney , Australia , and.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reeve
authors.affiliation: c Faculty of Health Sciences , University of Sydney , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mccabe
authors.affiliation: a Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE), University of Technology Sydney , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Rosalie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Viney
authors.affiliation: a Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE), University of Technology Sydney , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goodall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000191:economics*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male
keywords: Language impairment; children; longitudinal