OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to estimate the socioeconomic costs resulting from alcohol drinking among adolescents as of 2006 from a societal perspective. METHODS: The costs were classified into direct costs, indirect costs, and other costs. The direct costs consisted of direct medical costs and direct non-medical costs. The indirect costs were computed by future income losses from premature death, productivity losses from using medical services and reduction of productivity from drinking and hangover. The other costs consisted of property damage, public administrative expenses, and traffic accident compensation. RESULTS: The socioeconomic costs of alcohol drinking among adolescents as of 2006 were estimated to be 387.5 billion won (0.05% of GDP). In the case of the former, the amount included 48.25% for reduction of productivity from drinking and hangover, 39.38% for future income losses from premature death, and 6.71% for hangover costs. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that the socioeconomic costs of alcohol drinking among adolescents in Korea were a serious as compared with that of the United States. Therefore, the active interventions such as a surveillance system and a prevention program to control adolescents drinking by government and preventive medicine specialist are needed.
Accidents, Traffic/economics ; Adolescent ; Alcohol Drinking/*economics ; Costs and Cost Analysis ; Efficiency ; Health Services/economics/utilization ; Humans ; *Models, Economic ; Republic of Korea ; Socioeconomic Factors

The incidence of thyroid cancer has recently increased in most industrialized countries, including Korea. To date, few studies have examined the association between thyroid cancer and socioeconomic status (SES). The current study was based on data collected from a total of 12,276 subjects (5,277 men and 6,999 women) by the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) between 2010 and 2011. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that older age (odds ration [OR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-1.05), being female (OR, 8.16; 95%CI, 2.99-22.24), being overweight (OR, 1.04; 95%CI, 1.01-1.06), monthly household income (OR, 3.27; 95%CI, 1.16-9.20 for medium-highest household income vs lowest household income; OR, 3.30; 95%CI, 1.16-9.34 for highest household income vs lowest household income), educational level (OR, 2.74; 95%CI, 1.16-6.46 for 10-12 yr vs < 7 yr) and alcohol consumption (OR, 1.89; 95%CI 1.08-3.32) were significant risk factors for thyroid cancer. Our results indicate that the recent increase in thyroid cancer is attributable to better early detection rather than to any increase in actual prevalence.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Demography ; Female ; Humans ; Income ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; *Nutrition Surveys ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Thyroid Neoplasms/economics/*epidemiology