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. 2015 Feb 24;7(5):183-95.
doi: 10.5539/gjhs.v7n5p183.

The Impact of Cognitive, Social and Physical Limitations on Income in Community Dwelling Adults With Chronic Medical and Mental Disorders

Clara E Dismuke, Leonard E Egede  1
Affiliations

The Impact of Cognitive, Social and Physical Limitations on Income in Community Dwelling Adults With Chronic Medical and Mental Disorders

Clara E Dismuke et al. Glob J Health Sci. .

Abstract

Introduction: As much as 45% of the US population has at least one chronic condition while 21% have multiple chronic diseases. The study examined the impact of cognitive, social and physical limitations on the personal income of U.S. adults with seven chronic diseases.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 19,357 US adults with seven chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, depression, emphysema and joint disease) from the 2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) was performed. The effect of seven chronic diseases and their associated cognitive, social, and physical limitations on personal income was assessed using a two-stage Heckman model.

Results: Depression emerged as the only chronic disease that was independently associated with a significant $1,914 decrease in personal income (95% CI -$2,938--$890). Social and cognitive limitations resulted in $1,944 (95% CI -$3,378--$511) and $3,039 (95% CI -$4,418-$1,659) decreases in personal incomes respectively while physical limitations did not result in a statistically significant reduction. Being Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, Other Race, female, never married, married, less than a bachelor's degree, publicly insured, uninsured, or having a health status less than very good were also associated with significant reductions in personal income.

Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest a need to determine the specific limitations associated with common chronic diseases and identify appropriate compensatory strategies to reduce their impact on income.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statements

Drs. Leonard E Egede, and Clara Dismuke are the guarantor’s of this work and, as such, had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

None of the authors disclosed any financial or other conflicts of interest. We certify that no party having a direct interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on us or on any organization with which we are associated and we certify that all financial and material support for this research and work are clearly identified in the title page of the manuscript.

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