Health Outcomes

• Cardiovascular outcomes, Musculoskeletal outcomes, Neurological outcomes, Cognitive outcomes, Reproductive outcomes, Birth outcomes, Kidney outcomes, Cancer outcomes, Mortality, Morbidity

Health Outcome List:

• Cardiovascular outcomes (hypertension, myocardial infarctions)
• musculoskeletal outcomes (muscular pain)
• neurological/cognitive outcomes (ocular disorder, depression, nervous system disorder, pain disorder, dementia)
• reproductive outcomes (male fertility damages, female fertility damages)
• birth outcomes (preterm birth)
• kidney outcomes (end stage renal disease (ESRD), chronic kidney disease)
• cancer outcomes (lung cancer)
• mortality/morbidity

Environmental Agents

List of Environmental Agents:

• Metals (lead)

Source of Environmental Agents:

• Occupational

Economic Evaluation / Methods and Source

Type:

• Cost analysis (CA)

Cost Measures:

• Direct medical costs associated with diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and accommodation, including medical and other care provided at the work place, in a medical facility, or at home for all specified health outcomes of interest (health unit, equipment, transportation, out-of-pocket expenditures, etc.)
• indirect costs associated with productivity, personal time loss for the individual (including the family) and employer, and specialized consumer products related to all conditions/outcomes of interest (lost work, costs)

Potential Cost Measures:

• Costs related to health damages associated with other outcomes, such as cognitive and hearing decrements, or metabolic changes
• valuation for pain, suffering, decreased quality of life, and similar others
• costs associated with the suffering of family members and psychological hardships

Benefits Measures:

• Not available

Potential Benefits Measures:

• Not available

Location:

• United States

Models Used:

• Author developed simple algorithms to monetize direct medical and indirect (productivity) damages associated with high lead exposures.

Models References:

• Not available

Methods Used:

• The author estimated the attributable annual societal costs of health damages associated with occupationally lead-exposed U.S. workers, and developed methods for fuller valuation of health damages. The author — 1) used blood lead data collected through the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) program to estimate the number of U.S. occupationally lead-exposed workers; 2) used published literature and a COI or human capital approach to value health damages, which includes direct and indirect cost categories, and converted costs to 2014$; and 3) used effect slopes to calculate the number of workers suffering specific health damages, assuming blood lead levels will be reduced to 30 µg/dL.

Sources Used:

• Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) Program (NIOSH, 2015); Elevated blood lead levels among employed adults - United States, 1994-2012 (Alarcon, 2015); Guidelines in preparing economic analyses (EPA, National Center for Environmental Economics, Office of Policy, 2014); additional sources cited in publication

Economic Citation / Fundings

Citation:

• Levin R. The attributable annual health costs of U.S. occupational lead poisoning. Int J Occupational Environ Health. 2016. 22; 2.
• Pubmed
• DOI

NIEHS Funding:

• Not available

Other Funding:

• Not available