Open Access, Peer-reviewed
eISSN 2951-3146
    Korean J Community Nutr. 2012 Jun;17(3):341-352. Korean.
    Published online Jun 30, 2012.
    https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2012.17.3.341
    Copyright © 2012 The Korean Society of Community Nutrition
    Original Article

    Cost-benefit Analysis of Sodium Intake Reduction Policy in Korea

    Chulhee Lee, Dae-il Kim, Jeonglim Hong, Eunmi Koh,1 Baeg-won Kang,2 Jong Wook Kim,2 Hye-Kyung Park,2 and Cho-il Kim1
      • Department of Economics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
      • 1Department of Health Industry & Policy, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Choongbuk, Korea.
      • 2Nutrition Policy Office, Korea Food & Drug Administration, Choongbuk, Korea.
    • Corresponding author: Cho-il Kim, Department of Health Industry & Policy, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Osong-eup, Choongbuk 363-700, Korea. Tel: (043) 713-8611, Fax: (043) 713-8907, Email: kimci@khidi.or.kr
    Received February 29, 2012; Revised April 06, 2012; Accepted May 15, 2012.

    Abstract

    It is well established that excessive sodium intake is related to a higher incidence of chronic diseases such as hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease and gastric cancer. Although the upper limit of the current sodium intake guideline by WHO is set at 2,000 mg/day for adults, sodium intake of Koreans is well over 4,700 mg/capita/day implying an urgent need to develop and implement sodium intake reduction policy at the national level. This study investigated the cost-effectiveness of the sodium intake reduction policy, for the first time, in Korea. Analyses were performed using most recent and representative data on national health insurance statistics, healthcare utilization, employment information, disease morbidity/mortality, etc. The socioeconomic benefits of the policy, resulting from reduced morbidity of those relevant diseases, included lower medical expenditures, transportation costs, caregiver cost for inpatients and income losses. The socioeconomic benefits from diminished mortality included reductions in earning losses and welfare losses caused by early deaths. It is estimated that the amount of total benefits of reducing sodium intake from 4.7 g to 3.0 g is 12.6 trillion Korean Won; and the size of its cost is 149 billion Won. Assuming that the effect of sodium intake reduction would become gradually evident over a 5-year period, the implied rate of average return to the sodium reduction policy is 7,790% for the following 25 years, suggesting a very high cost-effectiveness. Accordingly, development and implementation of a mid-to-long term plan for a consistent sodium intake reduction policy is extremely beneficial and well warranted.

    Keywords
    sodium intake reduction; health; cost-benefit analysis

    Tables

    Table 1
    Diseases considered in cost-benefit analysis of sodium intake reduction policy

    Table 2
    Expected effect of salt intake reduction on specific diseases

    Table 3
    Estimated reduction in health-care costs

    Table 4
    Estimated reduction in cost of death based on human capital approach

    Table 5
    Estimated reduction in cost of death based on the estimated value of life

    Table 6
    Overall benefits of sodium intake reduction

    Table 7
    Estimated cost of sodium intake reduction policy

    Table 8
    Rate of return (%) to investment in sodium intake reduction

    Notes

    This research was supported by a grant (11162KFDA163) from Korea Food & Drug Administration in 2011.

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    MeSH Terms
    Adult
    Cardiovascular Diseases
    Caregivers
    Chronic Disease
    Coronary Disease
    Cost-Benefit Analysis
    Delivery of Health Care
    Employment
    Health Expenditures
    Humans
    Hypertension
    Incidence
    Inpatients
    Korea
    National Health Programs
    Sodium
    Stomach Neoplasms
    Stroke
    Transportation
    Metrics
    Share
    Tables
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