Abstract: Objective： To obtain the baseline data and decision of quantitative analysis for the allocation of scarce health care resources,and for the health policymaking about easing the disease burden, to provide estimation of the economic costs and the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) loss of the coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (CWP) and to explore the influencing factors of the disease burden. Methods: The CWP inpatients from the Institute of Occupational Diseases Prevention and Control of a Coal Mining Group for 2011 were recruited in the study. Multiple dimensions of the disease burden were measured in the inception cohort of the 194 CWP inpatients: the direct economic burden, the indirect economic burden and the DALYs loss. The direct economic burden of the inpatients included hospitalization expenses and food allowances and nutritional supplements. The indirect economic burden was estimated using the DALYs and human capital approach,and the influencing factors of hospitalization expenses were analyzed in this study. Results: The estimated direct economic burden for the 194 CWP inpatients for 2011 was approximately 4.68 million yuan and direct burden per capita was 24 108.05 yuan, and their indirect burden about 6.98 million yuan and indirect burden per capita 35 977.36 yuan. The study discovered that 1 681.53 health years were lost for the CWP inpaitents and per capita health years loss (8.67±3.65) years. Conclusion: The medical cost, the indirect cost and the DALYs loss of CWP are all sizable. Age and length of stay in the hospital are the major influencing factors for high hospitalization expenses. The hospitalization expenses of the CWP inpatients increase with their age and length of stay in the hospital. Taking effective measures to reduce the morbility is the key point to reduce the CWP burden.

Key words: Anthracosis, Cost of illness, Health care costs, Disability-adjusted life years