P-80 Økonomiske konsekvenser av kardiopulmonale sykdommer som følge av temperatureksponering i Norge.

We hope to provide evidence that contribute highlighting the cost of CPD in Norway attributable to climate-related exposures.

Background: The economic impact of cardiopulmonary diseases (CPDs) in Europe has been proved to be substantial. This study aimed to estimate the economic burden of CPDs in Norway, and to assess the relation- ship between ambient air temperature and the direct healthcare costs from the Norway Control and Payment of Health Reimbursements (KUHR). Associations between sex, age and socioeconomic factors and these costs were also assessed.

Methods: This retrospective cost-of-illness study was based on the Cohort of Norway (CONOR) in the years 2008–2018 and was linked to healthcare costs retrieved from KUHR and data on education and income from Statistics Norway. Data on daily mean ambient air temperature exposure was retrieved from the SeNorge2 dataset, with a grid spacing of 1 km. Direct healthcare costs in 2018 Norwegian Kroner (NOK) were calculated by using reimbursement rates from KUHR, and a generalised linear model was applied to assess the costs related to ambient air temperature exposure, and sociodemographic factors.

Results: A total of 139,567 participants with a mean age of 68.2 years was included. The total cost of CPDs in the period 2008–2018 was NOK 1,512,651,719 (€157 mil- lion, 2018 value), of which 66.3% related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) visits, 31.2% to respiratory disease (RD) visits, and 2.4% for visits relating to both. A 1℃ increase in mean temperature the preceding week to a visit was associated with a 0.33% increase in cost (P<0.001). RD-related costs increased by 0.55% (P<0.001). No association was found between temperature exposure and cost impact for CVD visits or visits with both. Sex, age and education levels were significantly associated with changes in healthcare costs. Women had 7.36% (P<0.001) lower costs than men in total. RD costs increased by 0.72% (P<0.001) per year of age, but CVD costs decreased by 0.21% per year (P<0.001). Each level of higher education was associated with a 2.42% (P<0.001) decrease in RD costs, but a 2.76% (P<0.001) increase in CVD costs.

Conclusions: Direct costs of CPDs in primary health- care amounted to a substantial economic impact, and ambient air temperature exposures seemed to increase direct healthcare costs related to CPDs. The total cost of CPDs is likely to be much higher, when factoring in prescription costs, hospital visits and indirect costs.