Mortality and morbidity economic burden due to PM2.5 and ozone; an AirQ+ modelling in Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Attributable health impacts of air pollution result in economic costs to societies. In this study, the WHO AirQ+ model was used to estimate the health impacts and health-related economic costs of PM2.5 and O3 in Karaj, the fourth largest city in Iran, from March 2015 to March 2016.
 Materials and methods: For PM2.5, long-term mortality due to ischemic heart disease (IHD), lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and morbidity such as acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI), and short-term cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations were calculated. For ozone, short-term mortality and hospitalizations due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were estimated. The human capital method (HCM) was used to monetize the mortality impact attributed to selected air pollutants. Direct and indirect costs of morbidity were estimated using available local data on the costs related to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
 Results: The total number of IHD, COPD, LC and ALRI deaths attributed to PM2.5 in selected age groups was 576. The total number of cardiovascular and respiratory deaths attributed to O3 was 46 cases. For hospitalization, the aggregate cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions for both pollut- ants were 552. The total economic loss due to mortality and morbidity from selected health endpoints was approximately 44 million USD.
 Conclusion: Despite the limitations, such methodologies can be useful for policy-makers. Therefore, there is a compelling need to conduct cost of ill- ness’s studies in other areas.

Impact of SAFAR Air Quality Forecasting Framework and Advisory Services in Reducing the Economic Health Burden of India

“…A systematic review was conducted to identify all published studies on major respiratory Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) (Nethan et al, 2017;Nunes et al, 2017;Rehr et al, 2018;Salvi et al, 2018;Akkawi et al, 2020;Hadei et al, 2020;Pandey et al, 2021;Rehman et al, 2021) to understand the cost implications. Overview of the cost reported in studies by different researchers has been depicted in Table 2.…”

“…Research and investigation of the health burden attributed to air pollution have been dramatically increased in the last decade (Baklanov & Zhang, 2020) as it becomes a significant planetary health problem (Hadei et al, 2020). In India, many megacities feature in the world's top 10 most polluted cities (IQAir, 2020).…”

Health and Economic Impacts Assessment of O3 Exposure in Mexico

“…Several HIAs have been performed worldwide [ 20 , 21 , 22 ] using SOMO35 [ 19 , 23 , 24 ]; however, in Mexico, HIAs have focused on particulate matter [ 25 ]. The lack of information concerning SOMO35 health estimates and their associated costs has impeded the provision of information on the contribution of O 3 exposure in excess of 35 ppb.…”