Abstract
Objective
Studies have documented disparities in exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals
(EDC), but no studies have investigated potential implications for racial/ethnic disparities
in chronic disease and associated costs. Our objective was to examine EDC levels in
the US population according to race/ethnicity and to quantify disease burden and associated
costs.
Study Design and Setting
EDC exposure levels in 2007–2010 were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Surveys. The associated disease burden and costs for 12 exposure–response
relationships were determined for non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, Mexican
Americans, Other Hispanics, and Other/Multicultural.
Results
EDC exposure levels and associated burden of disease and costs were higher in non-Hispanic
Blacks ($56.8 billion; 16.5% of total costs) and Mexican Americans ($50.1 billion;
14.6%) compared with their proportion of the total population (12.6% and 13.5%, respectively).
Associated costs among non-Hispanic whites comprised 52.3% of total costs ($179.8
billion) although they comprise 66.1% of the US population. These disparities are
driven by generally higher exposure to persistent pesticides and flame retardants
among non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans.
Conclusion
Our estimates suggest that racial/ethnic disparities in chronic diseases in the US
may be because of chemical exposures and are an important tool to inform policies
that address such disparities.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 07, 2018
Accepted:
November 30,
2018
Footnotes
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
