Economic Burden of Disease-Associated Malnutrition in China
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Disease-associated malnutrition (DAM) is a well-recognized problem in many countries, but the extent of its burden on the Chinese population is unclear. This article reports the results of a burden-of-illness study on DAM in 15 diseases in China. Using data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the China Health and Nutrition Survey, and the published literature, mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost because of DAM were calculated; a financial value of this burden was calculated following WHO guidelines. DALYs lost annually to DAM in China varied across diseases, from a low of 2248 in malaria to a high of 1 315 276 in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The total burden was 6.1 million DALYs, for an economic burden of US$66 billion (Chinese ¥ 447 billion) annually. This burden is sufficiently large to warrant immediate attention from public health officials and medical providers, especially given that low-cost and effective interventions are available.
JOUR
Linthicum, Mark T.
Thornton Snider, Julia
Vaithianathan, Rhema
Wu, Yanyu
LaVallee, Chris
Lakdawalla, Darius N.
Benner, Jennifer E.
Philipson, Tomas J.
2015
Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health
27
4
407-17
10.1177/1010539514552702
2319