TY - JOUR
T1 - Global evidence of environmental and lifestyle effects on medical expenditures across 154 countries
AU - Escolà-Gascón, Álex
AU - Micó-Sanz, Josep Lluís
AU - Casero-Ripollés, Andreu
N1 - Funding Information:
Grant PID2020-119492GB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/ https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033/ and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Increases of health care expenditures (HCEs) challenge the financial capacity of governments and bring into question the quality of health care services in each country. It is known that modifiable risk factors (e.g. alcohol consumption) and certain environmental variables allow HCEs to be modeled without impairing the quality of healthcare services. We provide a worldwide statistical analysis of how HCEs can be reduced and with what statistical power/probability. The design was retrospective and was based on linear and nonlinear multiple regression models. The HCEs, alcohol consumption, renewable energy consumption, suicide rate, economic reversal of the environmental damage caused by CO2 emissions (ERCDE) and sales-focused jobs (SJs) were measured. The type of government and the most searched Twitter worldwide topics were also analyzed. A total of 154 countries (n) participated. Reducing alcohol consumption, SJs and ERCDE predicts linear reductions of 33.1% of HCEs. Annual alcohol consumption between 4 and 5 L per person was found to have no negative impact on HCEs. Beyond this tipping point, alcohol consumption did predict significant increases in HCEs. It was also found that renewable energy consumption exponentially explained 35.2% of the reductions in HCEs. HCEs can be reduced in each country by controlling the consumption of renewable energies, the ERCDE, and the SJs. Specifically, by controlling alcohol consumption, SJs, and ERCDE the economic reduction in HCEs could be reduced annually by as much as $228.466 per person. We offer tipping points that governments can use to make effective health policy decisions that include sustainable development goals.
AB - Increases of health care expenditures (HCEs) challenge the financial capacity of governments and bring into question the quality of health care services in each country. It is known that modifiable risk factors (e.g. alcohol consumption) and certain environmental variables allow HCEs to be modeled without impairing the quality of healthcare services. We provide a worldwide statistical analysis of how HCEs can be reduced and with what statistical power/probability. The design was retrospective and was based on linear and nonlinear multiple regression models. The HCEs, alcohol consumption, renewable energy consumption, suicide rate, economic reversal of the environmental damage caused by CO2 emissions (ERCDE) and sales-focused jobs (SJs) were measured. The type of government and the most searched Twitter worldwide topics were also analyzed. A total of 154 countries (n) participated. Reducing alcohol consumption, SJs and ERCDE predicts linear reductions of 33.1% of HCEs. Annual alcohol consumption between 4 and 5 L per person was found to have no negative impact on HCEs. Beyond this tipping point, alcohol consumption did predict significant increases in HCEs. It was also found that renewable energy consumption exponentially explained 35.2% of the reductions in HCEs. HCEs can be reduced in each country by controlling the consumption of renewable energies, the ERCDE, and the SJs. Specifically, by controlling alcohol consumption, SJs, and ERCDE the economic reduction in HCEs could be reduced annually by as much as $228.466 per person. We offer tipping points that governments can use to make effective health policy decisions that include sustainable development goals.
KW - Carbon dioxide emissions
KW - Health care expenditure
KW - Medical expenditures
KW - Preventive medicine
KW - Renewable energy consumption
KW - Sustainability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140952982&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.102036
DO - 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.102036
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85140952982
SN - 2211-3355
VL - 30
JO - Preventive Medicine Reports
JF - Preventive Medicine Reports
M1 - 102036
ER -