The Financial Impact of Traffic-Related Asthma Underestimated

A new study suggests that the impact of traffic on preexisting asthma represents only half of the attributable costs, with the other half coming from new asthma cases caused by traffic-related pollution (TRP).

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst, USA), the University of Basel (Switzerland), and other institutions evaluated the costs of childhood asthma due to traffic-related pollution in two California (USA) communities, Riverside and Long Beach, where traffic is the main culprit in poor air quality and heavily used roads are close to residential neighborhoods. The researchers looked at two main outcomes: bronchitic episodes and the cost of care for a child with asthma, with about 30% of the annual cost of an asthma case stemming from school absences, and 25% from sinus and ear infections and other related conditions.

The results showed that the typical asthma case costs about USD 4,000 a year, representing 7%-8% of the median household income. The TRP-attributable direct and indirect costs related to asthma in Riverside corresponded to 6% of the county's total budget for health and welfare, and in Long Beach represented 21% of the city's health and human services expenditures. When compared with other communities with similar background air-pollution levels, the authors estimated that Riverside and Long Beach together bore an additional USD 18 million in total annual direct and indirect costs from TRP asthma cases and exacerbations. The study was published early online on January 20, 2012, in the European Respiratory Journal.

“These results are troublesome because the sustainable healthcare expenditure of an entire family is considered to be 5% of income,” concluded lead author Sylvia Brandt, PhD, and colleagues. “The fact that together these two communities account for only 7% of the population of California suggests that the state-wide costs are truly substantial.”

Related Links:
University of Massachusetts
University of Basel