The risk of developing a work disability across the adulthood years

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Public Health
• Economics

Background:

• Work disability significantly impacts individual well-being, national healthcare costs, economic productivity, and social safety nets.
• Existing cross-sectional research lacks detailed insights into the population dynamics and risk factors of work disability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the prospective lifetime risk of work disability among U.S. household heads.
• To identify personal characteristics associated with an increased likelihood of self-reporting work disability.

Main Methods:

• Utilized forty years of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).
• Employed life table methods to calculate lifetime prevalence and logistic regression to analyze covariate effects on self-reported work disability.

Main Results:

• More than half (54.6%) of U.S. household heads aged 25-60 will self-report a work disability.
• Approximately one quarter (24.1%) will report a severe work disability.
• Individuals with incomes below 150% of the federal poverty level or lower educational attainment face a higher likelihood of work disability.

Conclusions:

• The study reveals a higher prevalence of self-reported work disability than previously estimated by cross-sectional studies.
• Work disability is a substantial contributor to healthcare service utilization and social safety net expenditures.