[The cost of cerebrovascular accident].

INTRODUCTION AND AIM

One out of three persons will die of cerebrovascular accident (CVA), another one will be disabled, and the third one will recover. This research has been taken to estimate the costs of CVA in the Basque Country.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The cost of illness is studied from a societal perspective. It is based on the prevalence of the disease. Population costs has been estimated from the use of resources of a randomized sample of patients admitted to hospital with stroke during the year 2000, and followed for 12 months. Transitions costs (those that happen just once) and state costs (those remaining in patients lifetime) have been studied separately.

RESULTS

The prevalence of CVA was 1.780 x 10(5). Average transition cost per patient was 4,762 euros and average state cost for patient/year was 10,506 euros. The estimated cost for the Basque Country is 120,249,986 euros in the year 2000. Transition costs were 16,460,729 euros and state costs 103,789,257 euros in the same year. State costs were due to disability.

CONCLUSIONS

The analysis of the costs of CVA from a societal perspective gets us to the heart of illness causing disability, the social costs of CVA are 74.3% of the total cost.