ECONOMIC BURDEN OF INSUFFICIENT CONSUMPTION OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS IN RUSSIA

Unhealthy diet is associated with high morbidity and mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which in turn are associated with high economic costs. A significant proportion of these costs is attributed to insufficient fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet worldwide with large country-to-country variation warranting research in various settings including Russia. The aim: to assess the economic burden of insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables in Russia in 2016 due to their contribution to the development of major NCDs. Methods: The calculation was made using population attributive risk for the development of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and cancer from meta-analyses and the data on the prevalence of fruits and vegetables consumption and the abovementioned diseases in the Russian population. The economic costs from the main NCDs were calculated using the human capital method. The share of health care system costs and economic losses due to morbidity and mortality from NCDs associated with fruits and vegetables underconsumption was assessed. Results: The contribution of insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables to the morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease and stroke were 5 % each (95 % CI: 3.0-6.2), 5% (95 % CI: 3.7-6.2) and 10 % (95 % CI: 4.9-15.9), respectively. Corresponding proportions for lung cancer was 8.9 % (95 % CI: 3.7-14.4). The economic burden associated with this risk factor, amounted more than 134 billion rubles (95 % CI: 78.8-173.3 billion rubles), 0.16 % of GDP of the Russian Federation in 2016. Indirect losses due to premature mortality (86 %) prevailed in the structure of the economic burden. Conclusions: The high prevalence of fruits and vegetables underconsumption in Russia and its significant contribution to the morbidity and mortality from NCDs are associated with significant economic costs from this risk factor.