Societal costs of exposure to toxic substances: economic and health costs of four case studies that are candidates for environmental causation.
Environ Health Perspect
; 109 Suppl 6: 885-903, 2001 Dec.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-11744507
ABSTRACT
Four outcomes that evidence suggests are candidates for "environmental causation" were chosen for analysis:
diabetes, Parkinson's disease (PD), neurodevelopmental effects and hypothyroidism, and deficits in intelligence quotient (IQ). These are an enormous burden in the United States, Canada, and other industrial countries. We review findings on actual social and economic costs, construct estimates of some of the costs from pertinent sources, and provide several hypothetical examples consistent with published evidence. Many detailed costs are estimated, but these are fragmented and missing in coverage and jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the cumulative costs identified are very large, totaling $568 billion to $793 billion per year for Canada and the United States combined. Partial Canadian costs alone are $46 billion to $52 billion per year. Specifics include diabetes (United States and Canada), $128 billion per year; PD in the United States, $13 billion to $28.5 billion per year; neurodevelopmental deficits and hypothryoidism are endemic and, including estimates of costs of childhood disorders that evidence suggests are linked, amount to $81.5 billion to $167 billion per year for the United States and $2 billion per year in Ontario; loss of 5 IQ points cost $30 billion per year in Canada and $275 billion to $326 billion per year in the United States; and hypothetical dynamic economic impacts cost another $19 billion to $92 billion per year for the United States and Canada combined. Reasoned arguments based on the weight of evidence can support the hypothesis that at least 10%, up to 50% of these costs are environmentally induced--between $57 billion and $397 billion per year.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Contexto en salud:
1_ASSA2030
/
2_ODS3
Problema de salud:
1_financiamento_saude
/
2_quimicos_contaminacion
Asunto principal:
Condiciones Sociales
/
Salud Ambiental
/
Salud Pública
/
Costo de Enfermedad
/
Contaminantes Ambientales
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Health_economic_evaluation
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Límite:
Child
/
Humans
País/Región como asunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Health Perspect
Año:
2001
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Canadá