Socio-economic determinants of healthcare costs in early life: a register-based study in the Netherlands

Abstract Background Children with low socioeconomic status (SES) have an increased risk of a suboptimal start in life with ensuing higher healthcare costs. This study aims to investigate the effects of individual- (monthly household income) and contextual-level SES (household income and neighborhood deprivation), and perinatal morbidity (preterm birth and small for gestational age ((<10th percentile), SGA)) on healthcare costs in early life (0–3 years of age). Methods Individual-linked data from three national registries (Perinatal Registry Netherlands, Statistics Netherlands, and Healthcar... Mehr ...