Prevalence and lifetime healthcare cost of cerebral palsy in South Korea

ObjectivesThis study examined the prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) in South Korea, and the attributable lifetime medical cost according to physiological types and extent of involvement.MethodsThe number of medical service use and medical cost of CP were obtained from the national health insurance review and assessment (HIRA) service. The prevalence was calculated from the number of five-year-old patients who used medical services between 2004 and 2008. The lifetime medical cost of CP was calculated from the data and discount rate of 3%.ResultsThe prevalence of CP in South Korea was 2.6 per 1000 children. The attributable lifetime medical cost of CP in South Korea was calculated to be 26,383 US dollars, which is 1.8 times the basic lifetime medical cost of the general population (14,579 US dollars). Spastic CP showed the highest attributable medical cost, followed by dyskinetic and ataxic CP. Spastic diplegia showed 1.4 times of the attributable lifetime medical cost of spastic hemiplegia.ConclusionsThe prevalence of CP in South Korea is comparable to that in other countries. CP is a disease with wide range of clinical features, and the medical cost according to the physiological types and extent of involvement should be considered.