Childhood abuse raises lifetime healthcare costs independently of later psychiatric conditions
Evidence
Drawing on administrative data from a large Pacific Northwest health maintenance organization, this study provides the most complete analysis of the long-run healthcare cost burden of childhood maltreatment within a managed-care context. Covering approximately 3,000 women with documented childhood physical or sexual abuse histories and matched controls, it found total healthcare costs 36 percent higher for the abuse-history group — distributed across primary care, specialty care, pharmacy, emergency department, and behavioral health utilization. The 36 percent elevation remained statistically significant after controlling for current depression and substance use disorders, establishing that childhood abuse history has independent effects on healthcare utilization that persist after accounting for the most obvious mediating behavioral health conditions. — , The Rod and the Child, 10794
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the economic burden literature in Fang et al. and the INSPIRE return-on-investment figures in this chapter. — connects to: Childhood abuse raises lifetime healthcare costs by 36 percent independently — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 7518; Childhood adversity dose predicts adult depression, alcoholism, and suicide attempts — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 10671