Cost-benefit Analysis of Sodium Intake Reduction Policy in Korea

doi:10.5720/kjcn.2012.17.3.341

Journal List > Korean J Community Nutr > v.17(3) > 1038364


Korean J Community Nutr. 2012 Jun;17(3):341-352. Korean. Published online June 30, 2012. https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2012.17.3.341
Copyright © 2012 The Korean Society of Community Nutrition


Cost-benefit Analysis of Sodium Intake Reduction Policy in Korea
Chulhee Lee, Dae-il Kim, Jeonglim Hong, Eunmi Koh,¹ Baeg-won Kang,² Jong Wook Kim,² Hye-Kyung Park,² and Cho-il Kim¹
Department of Economics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
¹Department of Health Industry & Policy, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Choongbuk, Korea.
²Nutrition Policy Office, Korea Food & Drug Administration, Choongbuk, Korea.
Corresponding author: Cho-il Kim, Department of Health Industry & Policy, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Osong-eup, Choongbuk 363-700, Korea. Tel: (043) 713-8611, Fax: (043) 713-8907, Email: kimci@khidi.or.kr

Received February 29, 2012; Revised April 06, 2012; Accepted May 15, 2012.

Abstract
It is well established that excessive sodium intake is related to a higher incidence of chronic diseases such as hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease and gastric cancer. Although the upper limit of the current sodium intake guideline by WHO is set at 2,000 mg/day for adults, sodium intake of Koreans is well over 4,700 mg/capita/day implying an urgent need to develop and implement sodium intake reduction policy at the national level. This study investigated the cost-effectiveness of the sodium intake reduction policy, for the first time, in Korea. Analyses were performed using most recent and representative data on national health insurance statistics, healthcare utilization, employment information, disease morbidity/mortality, etc. The socioeconomic benefits of the policy, resulting from reduced morbidity of those relevant diseases, included lower medical expenditures, transportation costs, caregiver cost for inpatients and income losses. The socioeconomic benefits from diminished mortality included reductions in earning losses and welfare losses caused by early deaths. It is estimated that the amount of total benefits of reducing sodium intake from 4.7 g to 3.0 g is 12.6 trillion Korean Won; and the size of its cost is 149 billion Won. Assuming that the effect of sodium intake reduction would become gradually evident over a 5-year period, the implied rate of average return to the sodium reduction policy is 7,790% for the following 25 years, suggesting a very high cost-effectiveness. Accordingly, development and implementation of a mid-to-long term plan for a consistent sodium intake reduction policy is extremely beneficial and well warranted.


Keywords: sodium intake reduction; health; cost-benefit analysis

Tables


	Table 1 Diseases considered in cost-benefit analysis of sodium intake reduction policy
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	Table 2 Expected effect of salt intake reduction on specific diseases
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	Table 3 Estimated reduction in health-care costs
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	Table 4 Estimated reduction in cost of death based on human capital approach
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	Table 5 Estimated reduction in cost of death based on the estimated value of life
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	Table 6 Overall benefits of sodium intake reduction
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	Table 7 Estimated cost of sodium intake reduction policy
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	Table 8 Rate of return (%) to investment in sodium intake reduction
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Notes

This research was supported by a grant (11162KFDA163) from Korea Food & Drug Administration in 2011.

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