Health, Absence, Disability, and Presenteeism Cost Estimates of Certain Physical and Mental Health Conditions Affecting U.S. Employers

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Abstract

Evidence about the total cost of health, absence, short-term disability, and productivity losses was synthesized for 10 health conditions. Cost estimates from a large medical/absence database were combined with findings from several published productivity surveys. Ranges of condition prevalence and associated absenteeism and presenteeism (on-the-job-productivity) losses were used to estimate condition-related costs. Based on average impairment and prevalence estimates, the overall economic burden of illness was highest for hypertension ($392 per eligible employee per year), heart disease ($368), depression and other mental illnesses ($348), and arthritis ($327). Presenteeism costs were higher than medical costs in most cases, and represented 18% to 60% of all costs for the 10 conditions. Caution is advised when interpreting any particular source of data, and the need for standardization in future research is noted.

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Most cited references 30

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The Work Limitations Questionnaire

Susan Malspeis, Kathleen Bungay, Diane J Cynn … (2001)

The objective of this work was to develop a psychometrically sound questionnaire for measuring the on-the-job impact of chronic health problems and/or treatment ("work limitations").

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Chen Chen, Ian W. Burton, H Edington … (1999)

The costs attributed to employee health problems are usually measured by employers in terms of direct health care costs, such as medical plan claims. Although it has been understood that employee health problems also produce indirect costs for employers, their measurement has been far less frequent. At best, studies have recorded one component of indirect health costs: the time lost to employee absenteeism and disability. The study presented here includes a measure of the actual decrease in the productivity of employees while they are on the job, in addition to measures of absenteeism and disability. These three measurements were combined to produce a Worker Productivity Index (WPI). The WPIs of 564 telephone customer-service agents were correlated with the employees' number and type of health risks, as measured by a Health Risk Appraisal. Additionally, the WPI was also examined across different disease states in the same population of employees. As the number of health risks increased, an employee's productivity decreased. The nature of the health risk may also differentially affect the pattern of the decrease. Finally, disease states were also associated with different patterns of productivity reduction.

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The Work Limitations Questionnaire's validity and reliability among patients with osteoarthritis.

Debra Lerner, John I Reed, Elena M Massarotti … (2002)

The 25-item Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ) was recently developed to measure health-related decrements in ability to perform job roles among employed individuals. Research has demonstrated its validity and reliability in several populations. We assessed the WLQ's performance when administered to patients with osteoarthritis (OA), which is a leading cause of work disability and productivity loss. We recruited a representative sample of 230 employed, confirmed OA patients and a comparison group of 37 healthy employed controls. Subjects completed a mail survey. In tests of the WLQ's scale internal reliability, the questionnaire met all established criteria. Additionally, in construct validity tests, the WLQ correctly detected OA vs. control group differences, and correlated significantly with arthritis pain, stiffness, and functional limitation, and self-reported work productivity. The WLQ is an accurate and reliable source of information for assessing the work impact of OA.