The Danish effect on Swedish alcohol costs. An analysis based on hospitalization data from southern Sweden

This study investigated: (a) the cost and change in hospitalizations related to alcohol misuse for the healthcare sector and (b) the effect of distance to the border on alcohol-related hospitalization costs. The first objective was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the second using ordinary least squares regression on aggregated municipality data. The total cost decreased marginally during the study period while the number of patient-cases decreased substantially, presenting evidence of a substitution towards outpatient care. The increase in average treatment cost and the almost constant total cost provide evidence for a societal increase in the burden of alcohol-related diseases. We found a negative effect for distance to Denmark on alcohol-related hospitalization cost for the year 2003. The effect was smaller for 1998, suggesting that the increase in private import quotas during the study period has affected individuals' consumption level and/or consumption pattern. We also found indications that the increase in import quotas lead to a higher cost increase for heavy consumers than for low consumers.