Longitudinal analysis of changes in illicit drug use and health services utilization.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To analyze the relationships between illicit drug use and three types of health services utilization: emergency room utilization, hospitalization, and medical attention required due to injury(s).

Data

Waves 1 and 2 (11,253 males and 13,059 females) from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).

Study design

We derive benchmark estimates by employing standard cross-sectional data models to pooled waves of NESARC data. To control for potential bias due to time-invariant unobserved individual heterogeneity, we reestimate the relationships with fixed-effects models.

Principal findings

The cross-sectional data models suggest that illicit drug use is positively and significantly related to health services utilization in a

SUBMITTER: French MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3087824 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature