Costes sanitarios directos del asma de origen laboral en España: una estimación para el año 2008

Background

Occupational asthma is the most common work-related disease in industrialized countries. In 2008, only 556 cases of occupational asthma had been diagnosed in Spain, which is quite far from even the most conservative estimates. In this context, the aim of this paper is to estimate the number of asthma cases attributable to the work setting in Spain in 2008 as well as the related health care costs for the same year.

Methods

The number of cases of occupational asthma was calculated from estimates of attributable risk given by previous studies. The cost estimation focused on direct health-care costs and it was based both on data from the National Health System's (NHS) analytical accounting and from secondary sources.

Results

The number of prevalent cases of work-related asthma in Spain during 2008 ranges between 168,713 and 204,705 cases based on symptomatic diagnosis, entailing an associated cost from 318.1 to 355.8 million Euros. These figures fall to a range between 82,635 and 100,264 cases when bronchial hyperreactivity is included as a diagnostic criterion, at a cost of 155.8 to 174.3 million Euros. Slightly more than 18 million Euros represent the health-care costs of those cases requiring specialized care.

Conclusions

Estimations of occupational asthma are very relevant to adequately prevent this disease. The treatment of occupational asthma, which involves a significant cost, is being financed by the NHS, although it should be covered by Social Security.