Katarzyna Kissimova-Skarbek

The purpose of this study was to identify the main health problems in Poland against global health problems using the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study results. The burden of disease is assessed here in terms of: (i) time lost due to premature deaths and morbidity (expressed in Disability-Adjusted Life Years – DALYs measure) and (ii) national income lost due to disease in Poland. The study presents the estimates of total DALYs, Years of Life Lost (YLL) caused by deaths, Years Lived with Disabilities (YLD), both in total (due to all causes) and attributable to chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), in 2015. The economic value of time lost due to deaths and disability in Poland is measured using the method employed by the WHO Commission for Macroeconomics and Health, which makes the assumption that each DALY can be valued at between one and three annual GDPs per-capita for the country under study. In 2015 over 2.46 bln DALYs globally were lost due to all causes, of which 66.7% were due to NCDs and 18.2% were due to communicable diseases. Poland experienced over 11.3 mln DALYs in the year 2015, 81.9%of which were due to NCDs and 3.4% of which were due to communicable diseases. 68% of total DALYs globally and 41% in Poland were years of life lost due to deaths. 84% of the total years of life lost due to death in 2015 globally (69% in Poland) occurred under the age of 70 and are considered avoidable. Total income lost in Poland due to deaths in 2015 amounted to up to I$527 bln.

Objective: The main aim of the research was to investigate the costs of dementia in Romania based on the estimated average cost of each person with dementia in Bucharest.

Method: This was across-sectional, non-population based study, with a mix of “bottom-up” and “top-down” data collection methods, which adopted the Cost-of-Illness approach from a broad societal perspective. The study involved 31 carers of patients with dementia in two Bucharest clinics in 2013 and 2014: the PROMEMORIA Private Clinic and the “Sf. Luca” chronic disease hospital. Face-to-face individual interviews were conducted using a modified version of the Resource Utilisation in Dementia (RUD) questionnaire. The average direct and indirect costs of dementia per person in the study were estimated for the year 2013 and are presented for the three levels of disease severity – mild, moderate and severe.

Results: The mean carer age was 59.3 (SD = 13.3), with 77.4% of the participants being females. The average cost (direct and indirect) of dementia per person in the study ranged from 53,787 RON to 67,554 RON (depending on the hourly wage used for valuation of the caregivers’ time). Converted to the international dollar currency, using the purchasing power parity (PPP) of the US dollar in Romania in 2013, the average cost of dementia in the study accounted for between I$32,301 and I$40,583. The estimated total annual cost of dementia in Romania in 2013 was between I$9 bln and I$11 bln.

Background: Stunting hinders the development of children around the world.

Objectives: Wehavecalculated the burden of disease attributable to protein and energy malnutrition (PEM) in Ghana and evaluated the impact of the modeled intervention to prevent stunting in Ghana.

Methods: A literature review was conducted to better understand the economic implications of stunting. The burden of PEM was measured in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and income lost. A culturally sensitive nutritional intervention was designed to prevent stunting in the target population. The comparator was no intervention. We performed cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, and cost-benefit analyses.

Results: The estimated income lost due to PEM in Ghana was over 70 bln2014 international dollars (I$). In 2014 the Ghana GDP per capita was I$4,548.00. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per stunting case averted was I$2,573.72. The ICER per DALY averted was I$896.18. The cost-benefit ratio was 0.03.

Conclusion: Stunting causes a high burden to society in Ghana. The modelled backyard poultryintervention is very cost-effective in reducing stunting and it effects.