Health Outcomes

• Multiple

Health Outcome List:

• Reviewed publications that examined respiratory outcomes (allergic rhinitis, acute bronchitis, asthma morbidity, asthma mortality)
• Morbidity (asthma morbidity)
• Mortality (asthma mortality)

Environmental Agents

List of Environmental Agents:

• Reviewed publications that examined air pollutants (dampness, mold)

Source of Environmental Agents:

• Reviewed publications that examined indoor air

Economic Evaluation / Methods and Source

Type:

• Cost analysis (CA)

Cost Measures:

• Reviewed publications that examined cost of illness
• Willingness to pay (when available)
• Direct medical expenses
• Patient reduced productivity
• Adult lost days for care for sick children
• medical costs in hospital
• Medical costs recovery at home
• patient sick days (adult worker, adult nonworker, children separately) in hospital and in recovery
• family/friends in hospital and in recovery costs for adult worker, nonworker, and child care
• WTP for pain and suffering

Potential Cost Measures:

• Not available

Benefits Measures:

• Not available

Potential Benefits Measures:

• Not available

Location:

• United States

Models Used:

• Not available

Models References:

• Not available

Methods Used:

• The authors estimated the economic costs of allergic rhinitis, acute bronchitis, and asthma from indoor dampness and mold exposures. The authors: — 1) reviewed published meta-analyses to define the odds ratios for risk of disease, disease prevalence rates, and attributable fraction for each of the three health outcomes as related to dampness and mold exposures; 2) reviewed published studies that reported cost of illness (COI) and willingness to pay (WTP) values for the health outcomes studied, and discussed details including assumptions regarding numerous cost values obtained from those studies; 3) used estimates from those studies to calculate base case COI estimates and WTP estimates when available for each health outcome for patients and for family and friends; and 4) performed limited sensitivity analysis of alternative methods and assumptions to calculate a potential range of cost estimates.

Sources Used:

• Meta-analyses of health effects associated with indoor dampness and molds (Jaakkola et al, 2013; Fisk et al, 2007; Fisk et al., 2010; Antova et al., 2008; Quansah et al., 2012); literature reviews and systematic reviews of research on health effects associated with indoor dampness and molds (Bornehag et al, 2001; Bornehag et al, 2004; Clark et al., 2004; Mendell et al., 2011); cost estimates for specific health outcomes derived from the literature; additional sources cited in the publication

Economic Citation / Fundings

Citation:

• Mudarri DH. Valuing the economic costs of allergic rhinitis, acute bronchitis, and asthma from exposure to indoor dampness and mold in the US. Journal of Environmental and Public Health. 2016.
• DOI

NIEHS Funding:

• Not available

Other Funding:

• US EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Indoor Environments Division