Davillas, A. and Pudney, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-5697-0976 (2020) Biomarkers, disability and health care demand. Economics and Human Biology, 39. 100929. ISSN 1570-677X
Abstract
Using longitudinal data from a representative UK panel, we focus on a group of apparently healthy individuals with no history of disability or major chronic health condition at baseline. A latent variable structural equation model is used to analyse the predictive role of latent baseline biological health, indicated by a rich set of biomarkers, and other personal characteristics, in determining the individual’s disability state and health service utilisation five years later. We find that baseline biological health affects future health service utilisation very strongly, via progression to functional disability channel. We also find systematic income gradients in future disability risks, with those of higher income experiencing a lower progress to disability. Our model reveals that observed pro-rich inequity in health care utilisation, is driven by the fact that higher-income people tend to make greater use of health care treatment, for any given biological health and disability status; this is despite the lower average need for treatment shown by the negative association of income with both baseline ill biological health and disability progression risk. Factor loadings for latent baseline health show that a broader set of blood-based biomarkers, rather than the current focus mainly on blood pressure, cholesterol and adiposity, may need to be considered for public health screening programs.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 Elsevier B.V. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Economics and Human Biology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Health Services; Health care Demand; Biomarkers; Disability |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > ScHARR - Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ES/M008592/1 ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ES/K005146/1 ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ES/L009153/1 ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ES/M008592/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 28 Sep 2020 13:46 |
Last Modified: | 28 Mar 2022 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100929 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:165773 |
Download
Filename: Biomarkers, disability and health care demand_11Sep2020_nohighlight_final.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0