The health-related social costs of alcohol in Belgium

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 958
• Main Authors: Verhaeghe, Nick, Lievens, Delfine, Annemans, Lieven, Vander Laenen, Freya, Putman, Koen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 16.12.2017; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alcohol; Alcohol Drinking - economics; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcohol use; Alcohols; Belgium; Belgium - epidemiology; Cost analysis; Cost estimates; Cost of Illness; Costs; Disabled Persons - statistics & numerical data; Economic aspects; Economic impact; Female; Health; Health aspects; Health care costs; Health Care Costs - statistics & numerical data; Health risks; Health Surveys; Hospitalization - economics; Human capital; Humans; Impact analysis; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Mortality, Premature; Nursing care; Prevalence; Psychiatric-mental health nursing; Quality-Adjusted Life Years; Sensitivity analysis; Young Adult; Belgium; Alcohol; Belgium; Health; Cost-of-illness
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4974-4

Alcohol is associated with adverse health effects causing a considerable economic impact to society. A reliable estimate of this economic impact for Belgium is lacking. This is the aim of the study. A prevalence-based approach estimating the direct, indirect and intangible costs for the year 2012 was used. Attributional fractions for a series of health effects were derived from literature. The human capital approach was used to estimate indirect costs, while the concept of disability-adjusted life years was used to estimate intangible costs. Sensitivity and scenario analyses were conducted to assess the uncertainty around cost estimates and to evaluate the impact of alternative modelling assumptions. In 2012, total alcohol-attributable direct costs were estimated at €906.1 million, of which the majority were due to hospitalization (€743.7 million, 82%). The indirect costs amounted to €642.6 million, of which 62% was caused by premature mortality. Alcohol was responsible for 157,500 disability-adjusted life years representing €6.3 billion intangible costs. Despite a number of limitations intrinsic to this kind of research, the study can be considered as the most comprehensive analysis thus far of the health-related social costs of alcohol in Belgium.