Cost effectiveness analysis and effects of treatment on the years of life with disability among the adult cleft lip and cleft palate patients in Bangladesh.

Oro facial clefts pose a large psychological and economic burden for the families and society. The number of years lost in a persons life caused by these disabilities can be assessed by calculating the Years lived with disability (YLD), a component of the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) method. It is used for the evaluation of economic impact and to quantify the disease burden. Over a period of four years, this cross-sectional study was carried out at the orthodontics Department of BSMMU, Bangladesh. 55 adult male and female patients of 15-30 years were enrolled in the study. Everyone completed their treatment at the time of the interview. The number of DALYs averted after the treatment of these patients was calculated. Cost effectiveness of treatment was assessed by comparing the cost per DALY averted with the WHO-provided GDP threshold. If the patients were untreated, they would have a total of 1,314.35 years lived with disability, considering the disease onset at 0 years of life up to the expected standard life expectancy of 72 years. Because of the patients treatment, a total of 372.41 years of living with disability (YLD) have been averted. Our study found that the available treatments for clefts are cost-effective in our country. As the economic gain that calculated, focused on a small proportion of the DALY averted and cost-effectiveness, it advocates for broader implementation of such a method to address other health interventions.