142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Online Program

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

304217
Influence of individual and state-level characteristics on the association of arthritis-attributable work limitation with low annual income

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Kristina Theis, MPH , School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Susan Moss, MS , Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Kate Shaw, MS , School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Background and Objectives: State-Specific estimates of arthritis-attributable work limitation (AAWL) show heterogeneity (3-15%), suggesting state-level differences.  Nationally, AAWL is considerable (13%) among those with annual household incomes <$20,000.  We test the hypothesis that individual and state-level characteristics influence the association between AAWL and income.

Methods: Arthritis status (none, arthritis-only, or AAWL) and individual-level characteristics (household income, age, sex, race/ethnicity, employment, education, and general health) for working-age (18-64 years) adults (N=493,064) came from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for the 50 states and D.C.   State-Level measures (percent poverty, percent urban/rural, and median household income, education, and age) were obtained from the 2010 American Community Survey and Decennial Census.  We modeled the likelihood of low income (<$20,000 annually) controlling for individual and state-level characteristics.

Results: All individual-level characteristics were significant; median income and poverty were the only significant state-level characteristics.  Overall, 39% (95%CI=38.0-40.2%) of working-age adults with AAWL had low income compared with 20% (95%CI=19.4-20.1%) and 16% (95%CI=15.5-17.0%) of those without arthritis and arthritis-only, respectively.  Low state-level poverty reduced the odds of low income for those without arthritis (OR=0.8, 95%CI=0.7-0.9), but not for those with arthritis-only (OR=0.9, 95%CI=0.8-1.1) or AAWL (OR=1.0, 95%CI=0.9-1.2), after adjusting for significant state-level and individual characteristics.  Greater odds of low income among those with AAWL (OR=1.5, 95%CI=1.4-1.6) persisted in states with high poverty.

Conclusions: Significant AAWL associations with low income prevailed in all scenarios.  State differences in AAWL may be related to dominant industries/occupations and warrant further exploration.  Individuals with AAWL may need targeted interventions.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe the compromising effects of arthritis-attributable work limitation on income. Explain how individual and state-level characteristics influence the relationship between arthritis-attributable work limitation and low annual income. Identify target groups for intervention based on arthritis status and income.

Keyword(s): Low-Income, Healthy People 2020

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a subject matter expert on arthritis and employment, including employment limitation and disability. I have been the principal or co-principal author on several peer-reviewed manuscripts on this topic, including the first-ever national prevalence estimates of arthritis-attributable work limitation (a Healthy People 2010 and 2020 objective topic).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4271.0: Statistical Methods and Applications in Public Health