Regional prevalence of substance-abuse-related diagnoses and healthcare costs in 2015–2018
Background
Substance-abuse-related problems are a notable public health concern in Finland. Currently, knowledge gaps exist in the regional prevalence of adults who have been in contact with health services for substance-use-related reasons and in the yearly total care costs and their regional variation.
Methods
National health register data (Hilmo and avoHilmo) for individuals aged 18 or older was used. The age-adjusted prevalence of ICD-10 and ICPC2 diagnoses indicating alcohol or illicit-drug use-related harms were examined by municipality. Annual care costs were calculated based on Hilmo register data.
Results
Diagnoses related to substance abuse were recorded in health registers for over 120,000 adults between 2015 and 2018. Regional differences in the prevalence of the diagnoses between eastern and western Finland were observed. The prevalence was highest in the eastern parts of the country. Specifically, the prevalence of illicit-drug diagnoses increased during the follow-up period by 29.3%. Care costs also increased and notable differences between the municipalities were observed.
Conclusions
Comparable information on the regional prevalence of substance-abuse-related harm in healthcare settings is needed to support the development of the services.
Elina Rautiainen
D.H.Sc., Senior Researcher
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition
Aapeli Leminen
Miika Linna
Sami Sieranoja
Maija Toivakka
Solja Niemelä
Kristiina Kuussaari
Tiina Laatikainen