TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on work loss in the United States
AU - Sin, Don D.
AU - Stafinski, Tania
AU - Ng, Ying Chu
AU - Bell, Neil R.
AU - Jacobs, Philip
N1 - Supported in part through an unrestricted research grant from the Alberta Lung Association. Don D. Sin is supported by a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institute of Health Research.
PY - 2002/3/1
Y1 - 2002/3/1
N2 - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a rapidly growing public health problem in the United States and elsewhere. Although direct costs of COPD are well documented, the impact of COPD and its severity on labor force participation is not well known. Using population-based data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), we determined the adjusted relationship between COPD (and its severity) and labor force participation in the U.S. We used data from 12,436 participants involved in NHANES III; 1,073 of these participants (8.6% of the total) reported COPD. These participants were 3.9% (95% confidence interval, 1.3% to 6.4%) less likely to be in the labor force than those without COPD. Increasing severity of COPD was associated with decreased probability of being in the labor force (p for linear trend = 0.001). Mild, moderate, and severe COPD was associated with a 3.4%, 3.9%, and 14.4% reduction in the labor force participation rate relative to those without COPD. These data suggest that COPD has a considerable adverse impact on work force participation. Based on these data, we estimate that, in 1994, COPD was responsible for work loss of approximately $9.9 billion in the U.S.
AB - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a rapidly growing public health problem in the United States and elsewhere. Although direct costs of COPD are well documented, the impact of COPD and its severity on labor force participation is not well known. Using population-based data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), we determined the adjusted relationship between COPD (and its severity) and labor force participation in the U.S. We used data from 12,436 participants involved in NHANES III; 1,073 of these participants (8.6% of the total) reported COPD. These participants were 3.9% (95% confidence interval, 1.3% to 6.4%) less likely to be in the labor force than those without COPD. Increasing severity of COPD was associated with decreased probability of being in the labor force (p for linear trend = 0.001). Mild, moderate, and severe COPD was associated with a 3.4%, 3.9%, and 14.4% reduction in the labor force participation rate relative to those without COPD. These data suggest that COPD has a considerable adverse impact on work force participation. Based on these data, we estimate that, in 1994, COPD was responsible for work loss of approximately $9.9 billion in the U.S.
KW - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
KW - Employment
KW - Indirect costs
KW - NHANES III
KW - Severity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036499730&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1164/ajrccm.165.5.2104055
DO - 10.1164/ajrccm.165.5.2104055
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 11874818
AN - SCOPUS:0036499730
SN - 1073-449X
VL - 165
SP - 704
EP - 707
JO - American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
JF - American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
IS - 5
ER -