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The income-associated burden of disease in the United States

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  • Muennig, Peter
  • Franks, Peter
  • Jia, Haomiao
  • Lubetkin, Erica
  • Gold, Marthe R

Abstract

In this study, we estimate the total burden of disease associated with income in the US. We calculate the relationships between income and life expectancy, health-adjusted life expectancy, annual years of life lost (YLLs), and health adjusted life years (HALYs).We used the 2000 US Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to derive quality of life estimates by income and age, the 1990-1992 US National Health Interview Survey linked to National Death Index data through the end of 1995 to derive mortality risks by income and by age, and 2000 US mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics to derive current mortality estimates for the US population by age-group. The bottom 80% of adult income earners' life expectancy is 4.3 years and 5.8 HALYs shorter relative to those in the top 20% of earnings. This translates into the loss of 11 million YLLs and 17.4 million HALYs each year. Compared with persons living above the poverty threshold, those living below the poverty threshold live an average of 3.2 million fewer HALYs per year--a difference of 8.5 HALYs per individual between age 18 and death. The income-associated burden of disease appears to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US.

Suggested Citation

  • Muennig, Peter & Franks, Peter & Jia, Haomiao & Lubetkin, Erica & Gold, Marthe R, 2005. "The income-associated burden of disease in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(9), pages 2018-2026, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:61:y:2005:i:9:p:2018-2026
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    2. Maria Gheorghe & Werner Brouwer & Pieter Baal, 2015. "Did the health of the Dutch population improve between 2001 and 2008? Investigating age- and gender-specific trends in quality of life," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 16(8), pages 801-811, November.
    3. Garg, Amit, 2011. "Pro-equity Effects of Ancillary Benefits of Climate Change Policies: A Case Study of Human Health Impacts of Outdoor Air Pollution in New Delhi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 1002-1025, June.
    4. Peter Muennig & Bruce McEwen & Daniel W. Belsky & Kimberly G. Noble & James Riccio & Jennifer Manly, 2020. "Determining the Optimal Outcome Measures for Studying the Social Determinants of Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-10, April.
    5. Peter Muennig & Meghan Kuebler & Jaeseung Kim & Dusan Todorovic & Zohn Rosen, 2013. "Gender Differences in Material, Psychological, and Social Domains of the Income Gradient in Mortality: Implications for Policy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-8, March.
    6. Franks, Peter & Muennig, Peter & Lubetkin, Erica & Jia, Haomiao, 2006. "The burden of disease associated with being African-American in the United States and the contribution of socio-economic status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(10), pages 2469-2478, May.

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