August 23, 2019
A recent study1 from researchers at Hanyang University College of Medicine in Goyang, South Korea, aimed to measure — in dollars and years — the impact of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD on ADD) on its domestic economy. The research found that the burden of ADHD, as measured by a prevalence-based approach, was 32,605 disability adjusted life years (DALYs). Additionally, the total economic burden of ADHD was $47.55 million (in U.S. dollars), approximately 0.004% of South Korean GDP.
Researchers studied the National Health Insurance claims data for the Korean population ages 19 and younger. By combining years lived with disability (YLD) due to morbidity and years lived of life lost (YLL) due to premature mortality, the disability-adjusted life years aggregates the total burden of ADHD into a single measure in units of healthy life lost. For the 69,353 people diagnosed with ADHD, the burden of the disorder was 32,605 DALYs. Estimating direct medical costs, direct nonmedical costs, and indirect costs resulting from ADHD revealed a total economic burden of $47.55 million.
Researchers concluded that ADHD is responsible for a large percentage of the total disease-related burden on the South Korean economy, in large part because the condition is lifelong.
Sources
1 Hong, M., Park, B., Lee, S. M., Bahn, G. H., Kim, M. J., Park, S., … Park, H. “Economic Burden and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” Journal of Attention Disorders (Jul. 2019). https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054719864632