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

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.

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Acknowledgements

Cindy T. McEvoy and Kelvin D. MacDonald are supported by the NIH, National Heart Lung Blood Institute, R01 HL105447 with co-funding from the Office of Dietary Supplement, UG3OD023288; R01H L129060.

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Correspondence to Leah Yieh.

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Yieh, L., McEvoy, C.T., Hoffman, S.W. et al. Cost effectiveness of vitamin c supplementation for pregnant smokers to improve offspring lung function at birth and reduce childhood wheeze/asthma. J Perinatol 38, 820–827 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-018-0135-6

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