The Association Between Amphetamine Use During Pregnancy and Maternal and Neonatal Lengths of Stay and Healthcare Cost at Nong Khai Hospital, Thailand

Authors

• Rathawit Suntorn, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nong Khai Hospital, Nong Khai, Thailand
• Worapath Kratoo, Department of Public Health, Phetchabun Provincial Administrative Organization, Muang Phetchabun, Phetchabun, ThailandFollow
• Tatsanawan Doungdee, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nong Khai Hospital, Nong Khai, Thailand
• Nucharee Thammakhan, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nong Khai Hospital, Nong Khai, Thailand

Abstract

Background: Amphetamine use during pregnancy is a crucial public health issue. Amphetamine use during gestation has been linked to various outcomes, such as the potential for prolonged hospital stays and rising healthcare expenditures. However, the economic burden remains unclear.

Method: The retrospective cohort study was conducted at Nong Khai Hospital from January 2024 to December 2025. There were 80 pregnant women who had used amphetamine-exposed group and 160 non-exposed group. Generalized linear models (GLM) were used to analyze the difference in hospital lengths of stay and healthcare costs.

Results:The mean of maternal age was 29.04 years (SD ¼ 5.77) in the exposed group and 29.06 years (SD ¼ 5.85) in the non-exposed group. Amphetamine use during pregnancy increased by 0.51 days (95% CI: 0.21 to 0.82, p < 0.05) of maternal hospital lengths of stay and 1.79 days (95% CI: 0.94 to 2.64, p < 0.05) of neonatal hospital lengths of stay. Additionally, amphetamine during pregnancy also increased the total healthcare costs by 7049.35 Thai Baht (95% CI: 4985.30 to 9113.40; p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Amphetamine use during pregnancy was associated with a significantly increased hospital length of stay as well as increased healthcare costs for mothers and newborns. Findings of this study emphasize that effective prevention and efficient resource utilization strategies should be implement for pregnant women to reduce the healthcare costs.

Keywords: Amphetamine, Healthcare costs, Length of stay, Pregnancy.

Recommended Citation

Suntorn R, Kratoo W, Doungdee T, Thammakhan N. The Association Between Amphetamine Use During Pregnancy and Maternal and Neonatal Lengths of Stay and Healthcare Cost at Nong Khai Hospital, Thailand. J Health Res. 2026; 40(1):-. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56808/2586-940X.1205

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