The Impact of Diabetes on Work-Force Participation: Results from a National Household Sample
21 Pages Posted: 21 Feb 2008
Date Written: January 2003
Abstract
Background. Diabetes is a highly prevalent condition with substantial associated morbidity. The economic impact of diabetes is dramatic, with estimated total costs of $98 billion in 1997. We sought to investigate the effects of diabetes on work-force participation, including absenteeism, retirement, and disability. Methods. We used the first wave of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) as a data source. The likelihood of falling into various work-related categories, by diabetes status, was estimated using logistic regression; duration of being in different states of participation was estimated using OLS regression. We then estimated the economic impact of diabetes using the estimates of lost time due to disability, absenteeism, and early retirement combined with median salaries in the HRS sample. Results. Diabetes is a significant predictor of self-rated disability (OR = 3.1), of not working due to health impairments (OR = 2.4), and of receiving Social Security Disability or VA disability (OR = 2.6 and 3.0, respectively). Subjects with diabetes also missed more work time than those without (incremental missed days per year = 2.7). These changes in work-force participation equate to (up until wave 1 of the HRS) to an incremental loss of $57.8 billion in income, and another $7.8 billion in disability payments. Conclusion. Diabetes has a profound economic impact in the US. These figures should be considered when evaluating the cost-effectiveness of diabetes interventions and to inform and improve the allocation of resources for chronic disease management.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
Health Insurance, Labor Supply, and Job Mobility: A Critical Review of the Literature
-
Recent Trends in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Coverage: are Bad Jobs Getting Worse?
By Henry S. Farber and Helen Levy
-
Tax Incentives and the Decision to Purchase Health Insurance: Evidence from the Self-Employed
By Jonathan Gruber and James M. Poterba
-
Employment-Based Health Insurance and Job Mobility: Is There Evidence of Job-Lock?
-
Subsidies to Employee Health Insurance Premiums and the Health Insurance Market
-
How Elastic is the Firm's Demand for Health Insurance?
By Jonathan Gruber and Michael Lettau
-
Limited Insurance Portability and Job Mobility: The Effects of Public Policy on Job-Lock
-
Health Insurance and Early Retirement: Evidence from the Availability of Continuation Coverage
-
Why Did Employee Health Insurance Contributions Rise?
By Jonathan Gruber and Robin Mcknight