Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Psychiatry Res. 2013 Oct 30;209(3):512-7. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2013.01.014. Epub 2013 Mar 7.
Heroin dependence may cause an economic burden and has an impact on quality of life (QOL). However, assessments of economic cost are scarce and the relationship between economic cost and QOL is unclear in the Asian population. In the present study, an established questionnaire was modified to assess the economic cost and its association with QOL. A total of 121 volunteer subjects in a methadone maintenance therapy programme and 157 normal controls were enrolled. The total economic cost of heroin dependency is US$ 18,310 per person-year. The direct cost is US$ 11,791 per person-year (64% of the total cost), mostly consisting of the cost of heroin and other illegal drugs. The indirect cost is US$ 6519 (36% of the total cost) per person-year, most of which arises from productivity loss caused by unemployment and incarceration. The QOL of heroin-dependent patients is poorer than that of healthy controls in all domains. The overall QOL is negatively related to direct cost and total cost. The economic cost of heroin dependency is huge, equal to 1.07 times the average gross domestic product per capita. Reduction of the economic cost to society and the economic burden for heroin users is important.
海洛因依赖可能造成经济负担，并对生活质量（QOL）产生影响。然而，在亚洲人群中，经济成本评估较为缺乏，经济成本与 QOL 之间的关系也尚不明确。本研究中，我们对一份已建立的问卷进行了改良，以评估经济成本及其与 QOL 的关联。共纳入了 121 名美沙酮维持治疗计划的志愿受试者和 157 名正常对照者。海洛因依赖者的人均年总经济成本为 18310 美元。直接成本为 11791 美元/人年（占总成本的 64%），主要包括海洛因和其他非法药物的费用。间接成本为 6519 美元/人年（占总成本的 36%），主要源于失业和监禁导致的生产力损失。海洛因依赖患者的 QOL 在所有领域均劣于健康对照者。总体 QOL 与直接成本和总成本呈负相关。海洛因依赖的经济成本巨大，相当于人均国内生产总值的 1.07 倍。降低社会经济成本和海洛因使用者的经济负担非常重要。
