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Labour force participation and the influence of having arthritis on financial status

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to quantify the impact that having arthritis has on income poverty status and accumulated wealth in Australia. Cross-sectional analysis of Health&WealthMOD, a microsimulation model built on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers and STINMOD, an income and savings microsimulation model. Across all categories of labour force participation status (employed full time, part time or not in the labour force at all), those with arthritis were significantly more likely to be in poverty. Those employed full time with no health condition had 0.82 times the odds of being in income poverty (95 % CI 0.80–0.84) compared with those employed full time with arthritis. Those not in the labour force with no chronic health conditions had 0.36 times the odds of being in income poverty compared with those not in the labour force due to arthritis (95 % CI 0.36–0.37). For people not in the labour force with no long-term health condition, the total value of their wealth was 211 % higher (95 % CI 38–618 %) than the amount of wealth accumulated by those not in the labour force due to arthritis. Similarly, those employed part time with no chronic health condition had 50 % more wealth than those employed part time with arthritis (95 % CI 3–116 %). Arthritis has a profound impact upon the economic circumstances of individuals, which adds a further dimension to the detrimental living standards of older individuals suffering from the condition.

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Notes

  1. The income unit is defined by the ABS as ‘a group of two or more related persons in the same household assumed to pool their income and savings and share the benefits deriving from them equitably, or one person assumed to have sole command over his or her income, consumption and savings’ [23].

  2. Calculated for persons with wealth, some accumulated wealth, excluding those with zero wealth.

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Acknowledgments

The development of the microsimulation model used in the research, Health&WealthMOD, is funded by the Australian Research Council (Under Grant LP07749193), and Pfizer Australia is a partner to the grant. However, all authors are independent from the funding sources.

Conflict of interest

None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Locked Bag 77, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, 1450, Australia

    Deborah J. Schofield, Emily J. Callander & Rupendra N. Shrestha

  2. School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Deborah J. Schofield

  3. National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia

    Richard Percival & Simon J. Kelly

  4. University Centre for Rural Health – North Coast, University of Sydney, Lismore, Australia

    Megan E. Passey

Authors
  1. Deborah J. Schofield
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  2. Emily J. Callander
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  3. Rupendra N. Shrestha
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  4. Richard Percival
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  5. Simon J. Kelly
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  6. Megan E. Passey
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Correspondence to Emily J. Callander.

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Schofield, D.J., Callander, E.J., Shrestha, R.N. et al. Labour force participation and the influence of having arthritis on financial status. Rheumatol Int 35, 1175–1181 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-015-3224-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-015-3224-2

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