TY - JOUR T1 - The Disability burden of COPD. JF - COPD Y1 - 2012 A1 - Thornton Snider, Julia A1 - J. A. Romley A1 - Ken S Wong A1 - Zhang, Jie A1 - Eber, Michael A1 - Dana P Goldman KW - Aged KW - Cost of Illness KW - Disabled Persons KW - Employment KW - Female KW - Humans KW - Income KW - Insurance, Disability KW - Likelihood Functions KW - Logistic Models KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive KW - Social Security KW - United States AB -

Affecting an estimated 12.6 million people and causing over 100,000 deaths per year, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacts a heavy burden on American society. Despite knowledge of the impact of COPD on morbidity, mortality, and health care costs, little is known about the association of the disease with economic outcomes such as employment and the collection of disability. We quantify the impact of COPD on Americans aged 51 and older-in particular, their employment prospects and their likelihood of collecting federal disability benefits-by conducting longitudinal regression analysis using the Health and Retirement Study. Controlling for initial health status and a variety of sociodemographic factors, we find that COPD is associated with a decrease in the likelihood of employment of 8.6 percentage points (OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.50-0.67), from 44% to 35%. This association rivals that of stroke and is larger than those of heart disease, cancer, hypertension, and diabetes. Furthermore, COPD is associated with a 3.9 percentage point (OR 2.52, 95% CI 2.00-3.17) increase in the likelihood of collecting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), from 3.2% to 7.1%, as well as a 1.7 percentage point (OR 2.87, 95% CI 2.02-4.08) increase in the likelihood of collecting Supplemental Security Income (SSI), from 1.0% to 2.7%. The associations of COPD with SSDI and SSI are the largest of any of the conditions studied. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that COPD imposes a substantial burden on American society by inhibiting employment and creating disability.

VL - 9 IS - 5 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22721264?dopt=Abstract U2 - PMID: 22721264 (PMC in pr U4 - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/employment/disability/disability/Morbidity/Mortality/health care costs/social security/Social Security Disability Insurance/Supplemental Security Income ER -