Health care costs and changes in subjective health-related quality of life among Finnish adolescents referred to secondary psychiatric out-patient services: a one-year follow-up study

Anne Rissanen; Risto Roine; Mauri Marttunen; Harri Sintonen; Nina Lindberg

doi:10.2478/sjcapp-2023-0004

Health care costs and changes in subjective health-related quality of life among Finnish adolescents referred to secondary psychiatric out-patient services: a one-year follow-up study

Scand J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Psychol. 2023 May 6;11(1):34-43. doi: 10.2478/sjcapp-2023-0004. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Anne Rissanen¹, Risto Roine², Mauri Marttunen¹, Harri Sintonen³, Nina Lindberg⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Helsinki University and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
² Department of Health and Social Management, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
³ Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
⁴ Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.

Abstract

Background: There has been growing interest in economic evidence regarding treatment of mental disorders.

Objective: The purpose of this one-year follow-up study was to evaluate the secondary health care costs and changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in three common adolescent psychiatric disorder groups. Further, HRQoL of patients was compared to that of population controls.

Methods: Twelve- to fourteen-year-old adolescents with behavioral and emotional disorders (n = 37), mood disorders (n = 35), and anxiety disorders (n = 34), completed the 16D HRQoL questionnaire when they entered the adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinics (baseline) and at follow-up. The direct secondary health care costs were calculated using a clinical patient administration system. Population controls included 373 same-aged pupils from randomly selected 13 comprehensive schools.

Results: The direct secondary health care costs did not differ significantly between the three patient groups. However, in adolescents with mood disorders, this investment generated a significant and clinically important improvement in HRQoL, which was not observed in the other two patient groups.

Conclusions: The costs of health care alone do not necessarily reflect its quality.

Keywords: Adolescent psychiatry; Adolescents; Health-related quality of life; Secondary health care costs.