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Mongan, Deirdre (2011) Cost of alcohol-attributable hospitalisations in Ireland. Drugnet Ireland, Issue 39, Autumn 2011, p. 5.

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Harmful use of alcohol is a considerable burden on Irish hospitals. A recent Irish study calculated the number and costs of hospital bed days due wholly or partially to alcohol use over the five-year period 2000 to 2004.1 Research by the Health Research Board has established that conditions wholly attributable to alcohol accounted for 3.6% of all bed days in Ireland in 2008.2 However, this analysis did not reflect the hospitalisations due to alcohol across all injury and disease categories known to be causally related to alcohol.  

Age- and sex-specific alcohol-attributable-fractions (AAFs) for Ireland were developed by combining international risk estimates with Irish consumption data where available; where Irish AAFs were not available, international AAFs were used. These were applied to two national datasets – the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry Scheme (HIPE) and the National Psychiatric In-patient Reporting System (NPIRS) – to calculate the number and costs of bed days wholly caused and prevented by alcohol, and that proportion of bed days that were partially caused and prevented by alcohol.

Between 2000 and 2004, alcohol was estimated to have caused 3,428,973 (10.3%) and prevented 529,239 (1.6%) of hospital bed days, giving a net number of bed days due to alcohol of 2,899,734 (8.7%). Bed days wholly attributable to alcohol accounted for only 33% of all alcohol-attributable bed days. The impact of alcohol on hospital bed days was greater in men than in women and greater in young to middle aged people than older people, which supports previous Irish and international findings. The effect of low levels of alcohol consumption, which can protect against cardiovascular disease, on hospitalisations was seen only in the older age groups of both sexes. Alcohol did not prevent bed days among the younger age groups.

Ninety-five per cent (n=3,262,408) of bed days attributed to the harmful effects of alcohol were due to chronic conditions associated with alcohol, and 5% were due to acute conditions. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases accounted for 48% of bed days due to alcohol and neuropsychiatric diseases accounted for 36%. Conditions not wholly due to alcohol accounted for two thirds (2,297,412) of hospital bed days due to the harmful effects of alcohol. The hospital inpatient cost attributed to the negative effects of alcohol was €953,126,381 and the cost saved from prevented hospitalisations was €147,968,164, giving a net cost of €805,158,217.
 
The negative impacts of alcohol were greater than previously thought and spread across the whole population. As this analysis does not include the costs associated with patients attending GPs, outpatient services, emergency departments and private hospitals, the costs presented here represent only a portion of total hospital costs and a small portion of total healthcare costs. However, even this conservative estimate of cost is considerable and indicates a significant preventable burden on our health care system.

 
1. Martin J, Barry J and Skally M (2011) Alcohol attributable hospitalisations and costs in Ireland, 2000–2004. Irish Medical Journal, 104(6): 140–4. www.drugsandalcohol.ie/15284
2. Mongan D (2010) The burden of alcohol-related morbidity on hospital services. Drugnet Ireland, (35): 9–12. www.drugsandalcohol.ie/13967
Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
Alcohol
Issue Title
Issue 39, Autumn 2011
Date
2011
Page Range
p. 5
Publisher
Health Research Board
Volume
Issue 39, Autumn 2011
EndNote
View
Accession Number
HRB (Available)
Subjects
G Health and disease > State of health
A Substance use and dependence > Prevalence > Problem substance use
J Health care, prevention, harm reduction and treatment > Health care economics
VA Geographic area > Europe > Ireland
G Health and disease > Substance use disorder > Alcohol use disorder
MP-MR Policy, planning, economics, work and social services > Economic aspects of substance use (cost / pricing)

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