Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2007-6-5
pubmed:abstractText
Congenital hearing loss still remain an important medical and social problem for the delayed language development. Object of this study is to provide an updated and close estimate of the economic burden involved in pre-lingual hearing loss. Data were provided by the Ministry of Health data bank, the Ministry of Education national data bank, the National Institute of Social Insurance national data bank and the Italian Central Statistics Institute. The information was collected by means of a specially provided Societal Cost Questionnaire (SCQ). Direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs and indirect welfare costs involved in deafness were included in the cost estimate. Was enrolled in the study a sample of subjects with pre-lingual deafness, with a mean bilateral neuro-sensorial hearing impairment equal to 60 dB or more for 500, 1,000 and 2,000 Hz frequency tones in the better ear detected in neonatal age, had prevented speech from developing. The statistical assessment was performed according to an actuarial approach, considering the estimated life expectancy at birth, based on updated population data from census 2001. Based on life expectancy, the lifetime mean cost assessed for a subject affected by profound pre-lingual deafness turned out to be equal to Euro 737,994.76 for a male and Euro 755,404.02 for a female. Unlike other disabling affections, deafness weighs significantly more on the social system than on the health system. As a matter of fact, the direct medical costs, such as audiological diagnosis, hearing aids, etc., only account for 3.8% of the societal cost, whereas education, rehabilitation and welfare costs reach 96.2% of the total. Finally, our results suggest that societal costs can only be reduced by zeroing in on promotion and broadening of effective prevention strategies. The appropriate public health measures (such as the universal newborn hearing screening) set up and implemented in several European and non-European countries proved effective and reduced the handicap degree resulting from deafness. The investment in prevention will be widely paid.
pubmed:language
ita
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
1120-9135
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
19
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
143-52
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Adolescent, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Adult, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Child, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Child, Preschool, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Cochlear Implants, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Cost-Benefit Analysis, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Costs and Cost Analysis, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Deafness, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Female, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Health Care Costs, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Hearing Aids, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Hearing Tests, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Infant, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Infant, Newborn, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Italy, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Language Development, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Male, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Neonatal Screening, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Questionnaires, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Rehabilitation of Hearing Impaired, pubmed-meshheading:17547219-Socioeconomic Factors
pubmed:articleTitle
[Societal cost of pre-lingual deafness].
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Italian Institute of Social Medicine, Rome, Italy. l.bubbico@iims.it
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, English Abstract