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Environmental Health Economic Analysis Annotated Bibliography

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Details

Research article
Authors

Trasande L and Liu Y

Journal

Health Affairs

Summary
This cost analysis found that diseases of environmental origin in US children cost $76.6 billion in 2008. The authors concluded that to prevent further increases in these costs, efforts are needed to institute premarket testing of new chemicals, conduct toxicity testing on chemicals already in use, reduce lead-based paint hazards, and curb mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Population

Children

Health Outcomes

  • Metals poisoning, Neurological/Cognitive outcomes, Respiratory outcomes, Cancer

Health Outcome List:

  • Cancer outcomes (childhood cancer)
  • respiratory outcomes (asthma)
  • neurological/cognitive outcomes (intellectual disability, autism, ADHD, developmental disabilities)
  • lead poisoning
  • methyl mercury toxicity

Environmental Agents

List of Environmental Agents:

  • Environmental pollutants ("chemical substances of human origin in air, food water, and communities")
  • metals (lead, methyl mercury)

Source of Environmental Agents:

  • Not available

Economic Evaluation / Methods and Source

Type:

  • Cost analysis (CA)

Cost Measures:

  • Medical care costs for lead poisoning
  • lost economic productivity due to reduced cognitive ability from lead exposure and methyl mercury toxicity
  • intellectual disability costs
  • autism costs
  • ADHD costs
  • economic costs of developmental disabilities
  • medical costs of asthma
  • work days lost caring for child with asthma
  • medical costs for children with malignancies (inpatient emergency room costs, prescription drug costs, outpatient costs)

Potential Cost Measures:

  • Medical costs of obesity due to exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals
  • cardiovascular risks due to perinatal exposure to methyl mercury
  • criminal activity due to childhood lead exposure

Benefits Measures:

  • Not available

Potential Benefits Measures:

  • Economic savings achieved by preventing methyl mercury contamination of fish

Location:

  • Not available

Models Used:

  • Environmentally Attributable Fraction (EAF) model

Models References:

  • References cited in publication — EAF model (Landrigan et al., 2002)

Methods Used:

  • To update and expand a previous analysis of the costs of environmental disease in children, the study authors multiplied the environmentally attributable fraction by the prevalence or incidence of each condition examined, the population at risk, and the cost per case.

Sources Used:

  • US Census Bureau (2008); National Survey of Children's Health (2007-2008); National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2004); Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys; Nationwide Inpatient Sample; Nationwide Emergency Department Survey; National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey; Medical Care Consumer Price Index; National Vital Statistics Reports (2007); additional sources cited in publication

Economic Citation / Fundings

Citation:

  • Trasande L and Liu Y. Reducing the staggering costs of environmental disease in children, estimated at $76.6 billion in 2008. Health Affairs. 2011. 30; 5.
  • Pubmed
  • DOI

NIEHS Funding:

  • Not available

Other Funding: Not available