Analysis of economic burden of four major chronic diseases in rural Yunnan Province

Objective To estimate the economic burden of four major chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke) in rural Yunnan Province. Methods Multistage stratified random sampling method was used to select representative samples of 4 979 rural residents aged 35 years and over in Yunnan Province during the period of January to August of 2015. Human capital approach combined with disability adjusted life years (DALY) were applied to measure economic burden of the four chronic diseases. Results In the study region, the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease(CHD)and stroke was 35.3%, 9.9%, 3.8% and 1.7%, respectively, and the DALY per 1 000 population due to hypertension, diabetes, CHD and stroke was 2.4, 5.2, 23.5 and 21.1, respectively. Mean unit economic burden of the four chronic diseases was 6 667.4 Yuan, 9 126.1 Yuan, 9 270.0 Yuan and 16 187.2 Yuan, respectively. Mean unit economic burden of the four chronic diseases was 7 093.8 Yuan, 9 510.4 Yuan, 12 060.9 Yuan and 19 262.4 Yuan for male, whereas 6 250.7 Yuan, 8 554.9 Yuan, 4 849.4 Yuan and 9 030.6 Yuan for female, respectively. The total economic burden of the four chronic diseases was 108 185.2 million Yuan, 41 529.5 million Yuan, 16 192.0 million Yuan and 12 649.0 million Yuan, respectively. Males had higher mean unit economic burden for each of the four diseases than those for females (all P<0.05). Conclusions Hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke cause significant economic impacts on society in rural Yunnan Province. Effective measures are needed to reduce the economic burden of the four diseases.