IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v339y2023ics0277953623007566.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic distress, obesity, and the rise in pain

Author

Listed:
  • Glei, Dana A.
  • Weinstein, Maxine

Abstract

Growing obesity may have contributed to widening socioeconomic disparities in pain in the US, but some researchers have suggested that deteriorating social and economic conditions among less advantaged Americans could be the root cause. We evaluated whether widening socioeconomic disparities in pain are associated with growing economic distress, particularly among those with low socioeconomic status (SES). We also assessed whether the link between economic distress and pain is mediated by obesity. Using data from nationally-representative samples targeting Americans aged 25–74 in 1995-96 (N = 3034) and 2011–14 (N = 2598), we fit a structural equation model to estimate the contributions of economic distress and obesity to period changes in the SES disparity in different types of pain. Socioeconomic disparities in backaches and joint pain widened substantially over recent decades, although there was no significant widening for headaches. Economic distress accounted for 34% of SES widening for backaches and 41% for joint pain, but the effect was largely independent of obesity. There was little evidence that economic distress led to obesity, which in turn fueled a rise in pain. Obesity alone explained another 8% of the widening SES disparity in backaches and 17% for joint pain. Economic distress played a larger role than obesity because economic distress increased over time for those with low SES whereas it decreased slightly for those with high SES. In contrast, obesity grew at all levels of SES, albeit more for those with low SES. Unfortunately, we cannot establish the direction of causation. Our model assumes that economic distress and obesity affect pain, but it is also possible that pain exacerbates obesity and/or economic distress. If SES disparities in pain continue to widen, it bodes poorly for the overall well-being of the US population, labor productivity, and the prospects for these cohorts as they reach older ages.

Suggested Citation

  • Glei, Dana A. & Weinstein, Maxine, 2023. "Economic distress, obesity, and the rise in pain," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 339(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:339:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623007566
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116399
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953623007566
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116399?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 2017. "Mortality and Morbidity in the 21st Century," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(1 (Spring), pages 397-476.
    2. Nicole Maestas, 2020. "America in pain, the nation’s well-being at stake," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(43), pages 26559-26561, October.
    3. Zachary Zimmer & Anna Zajacova & Philippa Clarke, 2020. "Persistent, Consistent, and Extensive: The Trend of Increasing Pain Prevalence in Older Americans," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 75(2), pages 436-447.
    4. Gary Solon & Steven J. Haider & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2015. "What Are We Weighting For?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 301-316.
    5. David M. Cutler & Ellen Meara & Susan Stewart, 2020. "Socioeconomic Status and the Experience of Pain: An Example from Knees," NBER Working Papers 27974, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Yang Claire Yang & Christine E. Walsh & Moira P. Johnson & Daniel W. Belsky & Max Reason & Patrick Curran & Allison E. Aiello & Marianne Chanti-Ketterl & Kathleen Mullan Harris, 2021. "Life-course trajectories of body mass index from adolescence to old age: Racial and educational disparities," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 118(17), pages 2020167118-, April.
    7. Noreen Goldman & Dana A. Glei & Maxine Weinstein, 2017. "The Best Predictors of Survival: Do They Vary by Age, Sex, and Race?," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 43(3), pages 541-560, September.
    8. Dana A Glei & Maxine Weinstein, 2021. "Disadvantaged Americans are suffering the brunt of rising pain and physical limitations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-18, December.
    9. Ljungvall, Åsa & Zimmerman, Frederick J., 2012. "Bigger bodies: Long-term trends and disparities in obesity and body-mass index among U.S. adults, 1960–2008," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 109-119.
    10. Dana A Glei & Noreen Goldman & Maxine Weinstein, 2019. "A growing socioeconomic divide: Effects of the Great Recession on perceived economic distress in the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-24, April.
    11. Yan Yu, 2016. "Four Decades of Obesity Trends among Non-Hispanic Whites and Blacks in the United States: Analyzing the Influences of Educational Inequalities in Obesity and Population Improvements in Education," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-12, November.
    12. Anne Case & Angus Deaton & Arthur A. Stone, 2020. "Decoding the mystery of American pain reveals a warning for the future," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(40), pages 24785-24789, October.
    13. Noreen Goldman & Dana A Glei & Maxine Weinstein, 2016. "What Matters Most for Predicting Survival? A Multinational Population-Based Cohort Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-11, July.
    14. Dana A. Glei & Noreen Goldman & Maxine Weinstein, 2018. "Perception has its Own Reality: Subjective versus Objective Measures of Economic Distress," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 44(4), pages 695-722, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrasfay, Theresa & Goldman, Noreen, 2020. "Physical functioning and survival: Is the link weaker among Latino and black older adults?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    2. Ilaria Natali & Mathias Dewatripont & Victor Ginsburgh & Michel Goldman & Patrick Legros, 2023. "Prescription opioids and economic hardship in France," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 24(9), pages 1473-1504, December.
    3. Strulik, Holger, 2021. "From pain patient to junkie: An economic theory of painkiller consumption and its impact on wellbeing and longevity," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Alan Piper & David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2021. "Does Pain Lead to Job Loss? A Panel Study for Germany," DoQSS Working Papers 21-19, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    5. Angus Deaton & Anne Case, 2022. "The Great Divide: Education, Despair, and Death," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, August.
    6. David G Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Further decoding the mystery of American pain: The importance of work," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-16, January.
    7. Ruhm, Christopher J., 2019. "Drivers of the fatal drug epidemic," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 25-42.
    8. Strulik, Holger, 2022. "A health economic theory of occupational choice, aging, and longevity," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    9. Johanna Catherine Maclean & Brady P. Horn & Jonathan H. Cantor, 2020. "Business Cycles And Admissions To Substance Abuse Treatment," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 139-154, January.
    10. Graham, Carol & Pinto, Sergio, 2021. "The geography of desperation in America: Labor force participation, mobility, place, and well-being," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    11. Colantone, Italo & Crinò, Rosario & Ogliari, Laura, 2019. "Globalization and mental distress," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 181-207.
    12. Alexander Cheung & Joseph Marchand & Patricia Mark, 2022. "Loss of Life and Labor Productivity: The Canadian Opioid Crisis," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 703(1), pages 303-323, September.
    13. Sims, Katharine R.E. & Alix-Garcia, Jennifer M., 2017. "Parks versus PES: Evaluating direct and incentive-based land conservation in Mexico," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 8-28.
    14. Komlos, John & Schubert, Hermann, 2019. "Les origines du triomphe de Donald Trump," Revue de la Régulation - Capitalisme, institutions, pouvoirs, Association Recherche et Régulation, vol. 26.
    15. Austin L. Wright, 2016. "Economic Shocks and Rebel," HiCN Working Papers 232, Households in Conflict Network.
    16. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2019. "Shackling the Identification Police?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(4), pages 1016-1026, April.
    17. Wang, Huixia & Wang, Chenggang & Halliday, Timothy J., 2018. "Health and health inequality during the great recession: Evidence from the PSID," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 17-30.
    18. Fernández Guerrico, Sofía, 2021. "The effects of trade-induced worker displacement on health and mortality in Mexico," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    19. Durlauf, Steven N. & Navarro, Salvador & Rivers, David A., 2016. "Model uncertainty and the effect of shall-issue right-to-carry laws on crime," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 32-67.
    20. Sharpe, Jamie & Bollinger, Christopher R., 2020. "Who competes with whom? Using occupation characteristics to estimate the impact of immigration on native wages," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:339:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623007566. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.