Cost effectiveness of vitamin c supplementation for pregnant smokers to improve offspring lung function at birth and reduce childhood wheeze/asthma

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective:: To determine the implications of supplemental vitamin C for pregnant tobacco smokers and its effects on the prevalence of pediatric asthma, asthma-related mortality, and associated costs. Study design:: A decision-analytic model built via TreeAge compared the outcome of asthma in a theoretical annual cohort of 480,000 children born to pregnant smokers through 18 years of life. Vitamin C supplementation (500 mg/day) with a standard prenatal vitamin was compared to a prenatal vitamin (60 mg/day). Model inputs were derived from the literature. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses assessed the impact of assumptions. Result:: Additional vitamin C during pregnancy would prevent 1637 cases of asthma at the age of 18 per birth cohort of pregnant smokers. Vitamin C would reduce asthma-related childhood deaths and save $31,420,800 in societal costs over 18 years per birth cohort. Conclusion:: Vitamin C supplementation in pregnant smokers is a safe and inexpensive intervention that may reduce the economic burden of pediatric asthma.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)820-827
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Perinatology
Volume38
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Obstetrics and Gynecology

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