Health Outcomes

• Cancer, Respiratory outcomes, Birth outcomes, Neurological/Cognitive outcomes

Health Outcome List:

• Cancer Outcomes
• respiratory outcomes (asthma)
• birth outcomes (birth defects)
• neurological/cognitive outcomes (IQ/intelligence deficits)

Environmental Agents

List of Environmental Agents:

• Air pollutants (traffic pollutants)
• metal (lead)

Source of Environmental Agents:

• Outdoor pollution
• vehicle exhaust emissions
• source of lead not available

Economic Evaluation / Methods and Source

Type:

• Cost analysis (CA)

Cost Measures:

• Healthcare/medical costs such as hospital care, physician services, prescriptions, inpatient/outpatient charges, radiological services, lab services, and medical treatment
• lost school days and lost productivity
• lost parental wages
• risk of secondary cancer
• effects on IQ
• lost productivity later in life
• lifetime costs associated with decrements in IQ from lead exposure
• costs of developmental services
• cost of special education
• housekeeping expenses

Potential Cost Measures:

• Asthmatic costs due to household allergens, molds, secondhand smoke, infections or climatic conditions
• costs due to metabolic and functional birth defects

Benefits Measures:

• Not available

Potential Benefits Measures:

• Not available

Location:

• Washington state, USA

Models Used:

• National and State Cost of Illness (COI) models
• environmentally attributable fraction (EAF) model

Models References:

• References cited in publication — EAF model (Landrigan et al., 2002 and Waizman et al., 1995)

Methods Used:

• The author estimated the economic costs associated with childhood diseases and disabilities attributable to environmental contaminants in Washington state, USA. The author — 1) based estimates on cost of illness models that included direct healthcare costs and indirect costs; and 2) used an environmentally attributable fraction (EAF) model to quantify the proportions of each disease or disability that could reasonably be attributed to environmental contaminants.

Sources Used:

• US Census Bureau (2000); US Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (1999); Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (1997 and 2000); Trust for America's Health (2001); US National Academy of Sciences Committee on Developmental Toxicology (2000); Washington State Department of Health and the Washington Asthma Initiative (2005); Washington State Cancer Registry (2004); Washington State Office of Financial Management (2004); Bureau of Economic Analysis; additional sources cited in publication

Economic Citation / Fundings

Citation:

• Davies K. Economic costs of childhood diseases and disabilities attributable to environmental contaminants in Washington state, USA. Ecohealth. 2006. 3; 2.
• DOI

NIEHS Funding:

• Not available

Other Funding: Not available