Burden of Underweight in Israel

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Economics
• Chronic Disease Epidemiology

Background:

• Underweight is a significant public health concern.
• The chronic disease burden associated with being underweight requires comprehensive measurement.
• Understanding this burden is crucial for resource allocation and intervention planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the health burden and economic costs associated with underweight in Israel.
• To analyze the impact of underweight on hospitalizations, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
• To identify key disease categories contributing to the underweight-related health burden.

Main Methods:

• Utilized national survey data for underweight prevalence.
• Conducted meta-analyses to determine disease-specific relative risks for underweight-associated diseases (UAD).
• Calculated hospital days, deaths, and DALYs attributable to underweight, and estimated direct healthcare costs.

Main Results:

• Annually, underweight in Israeli adults (≥18 years) is linked to 60,401 hospital days, 558 deaths, and 3390 lost DALYs.
• Direct annual healthcare costs attributed to underweight total $145.6 million.
• Musculoskeletal disorders, coronary heart disease, COPD, and stroke are major cost drivers.

Conclusions:

• Underweight imposes a substantial health and economic burden in Israel.
• Cost-effective interventions are needed for both hospitalized and community-dwelling underweight individuals.
• Further research into targeted interventions can mitigate the impact of underweight.