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Costs of asbestosis and silicosis hospitalization in Italy (2001–2018)

Costs of asbestosis and silicosis hospitalization

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Abstract

Background

Asbestosis and silicosis are preventable fibrotic forms of pneumoconiosis. Decades ago, the World Health Organization began prevention campaigns for eliminating these diseases worldwide.

Purpose

To establish Italian hospitalization costs of asbestosis and silicosis in relation to national adopted prevention policies.

Methods

This is a retrospective population-based study of Italian hospitalizations treating asbestosis or silicosis in the period 2001–2018. We have extracted data from the National Hospital Discharge Registry and merged with national standard charges of hospitalizations through diagnosis-related group coding. We expressed costs in 2018 euros and evaluated data time-trends by linear normal and logistic regression models.

Results

During 2001–2018, hospitalization costs per year were 3,787,540 € for asbestosis and 10,103,215 € for silicosis. There were significant annual reductions in frequency (− 41 and − 266 hospitalizations per year for asbestosis and silicosis, respectively), length of stay (− 148 and − 2781 days per year for asbestosis and silicosis, respectively) and cost (− 43,881 and − 959,516 € per year for asbestosis and silicosis, respectively) of diseases. Length and cost of hospital stay per admission significantly increased over time for asbestosis (+ 0.2 days and + 100 €, respectively, per year).

Conclusion

Overall hospitalizations costs were higher for silicosis than asbestosis. Over time hospitals treated fewer cases with greater severity. The decreased 2001–2018 consumption of hospital resources by patients with asbestosis or silicosis is associated with the occupational health policies instituted from the 1990s to reduce exposures to asbestos and silica. Extending existing epidemiological surveillance systems to pneumoconioses would help to control the social costs of work-related diseases.

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  1. Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian National Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Via Stefano Gradi 55, 00143, Rome, Italy

    Pierpaolo Ferrante

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  1. Pierpaolo Ferrante
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Correspondence to Pierpaolo Ferrante.

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European hospital data are regulated by Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and they do not need approval by any ethical medical committee.

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Ferrante, P. Costs of asbestosis and silicosis hospitalization in Italy (2001–2018). Int Arch Occup Environ Health 94, 763–771 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-020-01637-z

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