ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the direct costs associated to outpatient and hospital care of diseases related to alcohol consumption in the Brazilian Unified Health System.
METHODS
Attributable populational risks were estimated for the selected diseases related to the use of 25 g/day or more of ethanol (risk consumption), considering a relative risk (RR) ≥ 1.20. The RR estimates were obtained from three meta-analysis. The risk consumption rates of the Brazilian population ≥ 18 years old were obtained by a national survey. Data from the Hospital Information System of SUS (HIS-SUS) were used to estimate the annual costs of the health system with the diseases included in the analysis.
RESULTS
The total estimated costs for a year regarding diseases related to risk consumption were U$8,262,762 (US$4,413,670 and US$3,849,092, for outpatient and hospital care, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS
Risk consumption of alcohol is an important economic and health problem, impacting significantly the health system and society.
Alcohol-Related Disorders, economics; Health Care Costs; Costs and Cost Analysis; Unified Health System