Abstract
Recent research suggests the burden of childhood asthma that is attributable to air pollution has been underestimated in traditional risk assessments, and there are no estimates of these associated costs. We aimed to estimate the yearly childhood asthma-related costs attributable to air pollution for Riverside and Long Beach, CA, USA, including: 1) the indirect and direct costs of healthcare utilisation due to asthma exacerbations linked with traffic-related pollution (TRP); and 2) the costs of health care for asthma cases attributable to local TRP exposure.
We calculated costs using estimates from peer-reviewed literature and the authors’ analysis of surveys (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, California Health Interview Survey, National Household Travel Survey, and Health Care Utilization Project). A lower-bound estimate of the asthma burden attributable to air pollution was US$18 million yearly. Asthma cases attributable to TRP exposure accounted for almost half of this cost. The cost of bronchitic episodes was a major proportion of both the annual cost of asthma cases attributable to TRP and of pollution-linked exacerbations.
Traditional risk assessment methods underestimate both the burden of disease and cost of asthma associated with air pollution, and these costs are borne disproportionately by communities with higher than average TRP.
Footnotes
For editorial comments see page 286.
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Support Statement
This study was supported with funds from an air quality violations settlement agreement between the South Coast Air Quality Management District, a California state regulatory agency, and BP, from NIEHS grants # 5R01 ES016535, 5P01ES011627, 5P30ES007048, 5P01ES009581, 5R01ES014447, Environmental Protection Agency grants R826708, RD831861 and R831845, and the Hastings Foundation.
Statement of Interest
A statement of interest for F. Lurman can be found at www.erj.ersjournals.com/site/misc/statements.xhtml
- Received September 12, 2011.
- Accepted December 7, 2011.
- ©ERS 2012