Transformations  in
Business & Economics

CHRONIC DISEASES - AN ECONOMIC PROBLEM?
Iga Rudawska

ABSTRACT.Chronic diseases are currently the main cause of both disability and death worldwide. The heterogeneous group of diseases, including, among others, cancers, cardiovascular illnesses, chronic respiratory conditions and diabetes, affect people of all ages and social classes. It is estimated that chronic conditions are responsible for 60% of deaths globally (Abegunde et al., 2007). The burden is predicted to become worse in the coming years. A WHO study projected an increase of global deaths by a further 17% in the period 2005-2015 (The World Health Report, 2004). The heavy burden of chronic diseases and their multiple effects on productivity, and demography plays an important role in the performance of national economy. The correlation between health and economic growth is therefore one of most crucial issues worldwide. The aim of this paper is to discuss the scale and trends in the burden of chronic diseases for the economy of the European countries. The discussion is based on national statistics showing the burden of chronic diseases in OECD countries (sometimes limited to European countries only). Comparative analysis and descriptive analysis have been applied. The author takes into account direct, indirect and immeasurable costs of chronic illnesses. It is revealed that indirect costs are much higher than direct costs of many chronic diseases. Disability adjusted life year index has also been used to predict the burden of chronic diseases. The author concludes that economic development depends on human capital and health is one of the crucial issues shaping it. Based on the data, it can be stated that economic growth is strongly determined by the public burden diseases

KEYWORDS: burden of chronic diseases, direct costs, indirect costs, immeasurable costs, economic development, EU, Poland.

JEL classification: I11, J24, 015.