Tracking Disease Could Save Lives, Money, UC Study Says

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tracking Disease Could Save Lives, Money, UC Study Says
Published 1:10 p.m. PST Monday, February 23, 2004

A University of California study Monday said the state could save lives as well 
as millions of dollars each year by
creating a first-in-the-nation system to track chronic illnesses and 
environmental hazards.

It costs Californians $10 billion annually to fight nine diseases like cancer, 
lead poisoning and childhood asthma for
which economic data is available, according to the university system's 
California Policy Research Center.

If tracking those diseases cut environmentally related illnesses by 1 percent, 
the state would save $100 million
annually, the study projected.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment account for a significant 
proportion of many chronic diseases, including
about 10 percent of neurodevelopmental disorders in children, researchers said.

They noted more than 33 million state residents live in areas where air 
pollution brings an increased health risk.

About 743,000 California children are affected by asthma, and about 1,100 
children are diagnosed annually with cancer.

The study stems from a 2001 law authored by Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk, 
making California the first state to plan
an environmental health tracking system.

In a statement Monday, Escutia said accurate information about who is exposed 
to what environmental risks is necessary
to guide the state's public health and environmental policies. She envisions a 
system that would monitor both the
frequency and geographic distribution of illnesses and exposure to known health 
dangers.

Some of that information already is being collected, but the state needs a new 
coordinating office to analyze it and to
tell the public about environmental hazards and related diseases, Dr. Joyce 
Lashof, who chaired the university study.

The researchers recommended that California create an interagency Office of 
Environmental Health Tracking, run by the
Department of Health Services and state Environmental Protection Agency.

The state also should increase the ability of state laboratories to check for 
contaminants in humans; increase tracking
of diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's that are known to have 
environmental connections; provide health
education to communities experiencing, for instance, suspicious disease 
clusters; and keep track of diseases and health
risks based on race, ethnicity and income level.

The researchers said environmental hazards are disproportionately a problem for 
those with lower incomes and among
certain races and ethnic groups.

The state also should spend more to fight environmental health threats, or it 
will be useless to track their effects,
the researchers said.

While a hazard and disease tracking system would be beneficial, the researchers 
cautioned it would take a commitment
from both the Legislature and executive branch of state government, along with 
communities, universities, and
companies.

SOURCE:  Associated Press / The Sacramento Bee, CA


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