Article
Estimation of the economic benefits for the public health system related to salt reduction in Costa Rica
Registro en:
1932-6203
10.1371/journal.pone.0279732
Autor
Vega-Solano, Jaritza
Madriz-Morales, Karol
Blanco-Metzler, Adriana
Nilson, Eduardo Augusto Fernandes
Resumen
Eduardo Augusto Fernandes-Nilson - Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Fiocruz Brasília. Brasília, DF, Brasil. Documento produzido em parceria ou por autor vinculado à Fiocruz, mas não consta à informação no documento. ABM-IDRC Project (NO Porject) 108167.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH
CENTER, CANADA, IDRC Project #108167 Scaling
and evaluating salt reduction policies and
programs in Latin American Countries. Excessive salt and sodium intake are strongly associated with high blood pressure and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure in turn is the main risk factor for the global burden of morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of this disease in the adult population of Costa Rica in 2018 was 37.2%. Costa Rica has limited information on the economic costs for the public health system and related of the prevalence of this type of disease mediated by dietary factors such as salt intake. Objective: to estimate the economic benefits for the public health system related to salt reduction in Costa Rica for the year 2018. Methodology: estimation of the economic benefits for the public healthcare costs and productivity losses associated to reducing the per capita salt consumption of Costa Ricans to 5g/day, including the estimation of the Years of Life Productive Lost and of the direct costs on consultations, hospitalizations, and medications for the Costa Rica Social Security System. Results: The total annual costs of hospitalization, consultations, and medications attributable to excessive salt intake in the population older than 15 years of age for the year 2018, were estimated at USD $15.1 million. The highest were in hospitalizations (53%), followed by consultations and medications (32% and 15%, respectively). Conclusion: NCDs caused by excessive salt intake represent important economic losses for the country, not only in terms of direct health costs, but also indirect due to the increase in years of potential life lost due to premature deaths because of CVD, which causes significant losses of human capital and, therefore, to the economy and the development of Costa Rica.