Skills building seminar: Environmental Burden of Disease: methods and applications

Abstract

Abstract There is an increasing body of evidence showing that environmental risk factors can cause illness and death. For example, particulate matter triggers lung cancer and noise increases the risk of heart attack. Consequently, governments worldwide should aim to mitigate the negative health effects of environmental exposures. The concept of Environmental Burden of Disease (EBD) aims to quantify the number of illnesses and deaths associated with various environmental risk factors, as well as the health benefits of potential prevention and mitigation measures. Current EBD studies commonly use the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) metric as a common currency for integrating the effects of ill health and premature death, thereby facilitating the comparison of the burden of various environmental risk factors amongst each other and with other risk factors. The EBD approach has been used since the 1990s, spearheaded by the World Health Organization. However, even today, the approach is not yet commonly adopted across Europe, mainly because of a lack of capacity. At the same time, the EBD approach remains in full development, trying to adapt to the current state of research. The overall aim of this skills building seminar is therefore to a) create awareness of the EBD approach, and b) to present and discuss current methodologies and future developments. The skills building seminar consists of four presentations. In the first presentation, the history and general methodological framework of the EBD approach will be outlined. Next, three presentations will present EBD case studies. These presentations will explain in a didactic, step-by-step way how the estimates were produced, and how technical challenges were addressed. Finally, ample time will be foreseen to discuss methodologies, challenges, possible solutions, and future collaborations to increase EBD capacity within Europe. Key messages Participants will gain insights in the use, strengths and weaknesses of the Environmental Burden of Disease approach. Participants will develop an understanding of current Environmental Burden of Disease methodology.