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The societal cost of heroin use disorder in the United States
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 5, p e0177323 (2017)
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science, 2017.
-
Abstract
- Objective Heroin use in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. The objective of this paper is to estimate the annual societal cost of heroin use disorder in the United States in 2015 US dollars. Methods An analytic model was created that included incarceration and crime; treatment for heroin use disorder; chronic infectious diseases (HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Tuberculosis) and their treatments; treatment of neonatal abstinence syndrome; lost productivity; and death by heroin overdose. Results Using literature-based estimates to populate the model, the cost of heroin use disorder was estimated to be $51.2 billion in 2015 US dollars ($50,799 per heroin user). One-way sensitivity analyses showed that overall cost estimates were sensitive to the number of heroin users, cost of HCV treatment, and cost of incarcerating heroin users. Conclusion The annual cost of heroin use disorder to society in the United States emphasizes the need for sustained investment in healthcare and non-healthcare related strategies that reduce the likelihood of abuse and provide care and support for users to overcome the disorder.
- Subjects :
- Bacterial Diseases
Cost estimate
Economics
lcsh:Medicine
Social Sciences
Criminology
Geographical locations
Heroin
Drug Users
0302 clinical medicine
Sociology
Cost of Illness
Health care
Medicine and Health Sciences
Medicine
Psychology
030212 general & internal medicine
lcsh:Science
health care economics and organizations
Multidisciplinary
Pharmaceutics
Heroin Dependence
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis B
Addicts
Infectious Diseases
Behavioral Pharmacology
Crime
medicine.drug
Research Article
medicine.medical_specialty
Addiction
03 medical and health sciences
Health Economics
Drug Therapy
Recreational Drug Use
mental disorders
Tuberculosis
Humans
Psychiatry
Sensitivity analyses
Pharmacology
Harm reduction
Health economics
business.industry
lcsh:R
Biology and Life Sciences
medicine.disease
Tropical Diseases
United States
Health Care
North America
lcsh:Q
People and places
business
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 12
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....562057704128fc43c99331e39ba5a22f