Abstract PR04: Exposure-based assessment and economic valuation of adverse birth outcomes and cancer risk due to nitrate in United States drinking water

Abstract

Abstract Background: Nitrate ingestion from drinking water has been associated with an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes as well as elevated risk of colorectal cancer and several other cancers. Yet, to date no studies have attempted to quantify the health and economic impacts due to nitrate in drinking water in the United States. Methods: This study presents a first-of-its-kind comprehensive assessment of nitrate exposure from drinking water for the entire United States population. This exposure assessment serves as the basis for our analysis of the annual nitrate-attributable disease cases in the United States and the associated economic losses due to medical costs and lost productivity. Additionally, through a meta-analysis of studies on drinking water nitrate and colorectal cancer, we examine the exposure-response relationship for nitrate and cancer risk. Results: On the basis of national nitrate occurrence data and relative risk ratios reported in the epidemiology literature, we calculated that annually, 2,939 cases of very low birth weight, 1,725 cases of very preterm birth, and 41 cases of neural tube defects could be related to nitrate exposure from drinking water. For cancer risk, combining nitrate-specific risk estimates for colorectal, ovarian, thyroid, kidney, and bladder cancers results in a range of 2,300 to 12,594 annual nitrate-attributable cancer cases (mean: 6,537 estimated cases). For medical expenditures alone, this burden of cancer corresponds to an annual economic cost of $250 million to $1.5 billion U.S. dollars, together with a potential $1.3 to $6.5 billion impact due to lost productivity. With the meta-analysis of eight studies of drinking water nitrate and colorectal cancer, we observed a statistically significant positive association for nitrate exposure and colorectal cancer risk and calculated a one-in-one million cancer risk level of 0.14 mg/L nitrate in drinking water. Conclusion: Health and economic analyses presented here suggest that lowering exposure to nitrate in drinking water could bring economic benefits by alleviating the impacts of nitrate-associated diseases. This abstract is also being presented as Poster A44. Citation Format: Alexis Temkin, Sydney Evans, Tatiana Manidis, Chris Campbell, Olga V. Naidenko. Exposure-based assessment and economic valuation of adverse birth outcomes and cancer risk due to nitrate in United States drinking water [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Environmental Carcinogenesis: Potential Pathway to Cancer Prevention; 2019 Jun 22-24; Charlotte, NC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2020;13(7 Suppl): Abstract nr PR04.