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Loss of income follows diabetes diagnosis for men, women in Denmark
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In the 5 years after a diagnosis of diabetes, Danish men experienced a relative loss of $3,694 in earnings, whereas Danish women lost $924 during the same period, according to an analysis of population registries in the country.
“Previous studies of both young and old workers have shown that diabetes impairs earning potential, with longer diabetes duration and the presence of complications having the greatest impact on earnings,” Bryan Cleal, MSc, PhD, senior researcher at Steno Diabetes Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues wrote. “Although the interplay between disease and work life will be marked by a dynamic pattern during the whole life course, it is important to examine the relatively underexplored issue of comparative earnings pre- and postdiagnosis with diabetes.”
Cleal and colleagues analyzed population data from adults with diabetes aged 25 to 62 years via three linked Danish registries: the Danish National Diabetes Register, the Register for Labour Market Statistics and the Register for Personal Incomes. Included adults were diagnosed between 1996 and 2007, and were matched via propensity scoring with people without diabetes by age in year of diagnosis, sex, earnings 1 year before diagnosis, growth in earnings (in the 2 years before diabetes diagnosis), percentage of years unemployed and geography. Researchers followed the cohort for 5 years after diabetes diagnosis; findings were presented as mean changes in earnings for people with diabetes and their controls. Lost earnings were measured as the difference between mean changes in earnings for people with diabetes and their controls; the difference between the two groups was calculated as a percentage of the earnings of controls in the year before diagnosis. Participants were stratified by sex and age groups (aged 25-45 years; aged 46-55 years; aged 56-62 years).
During the study period, 91,090 adults were registered as having newly diagnosed diabetes (50,133 men); their average annual earnings were $46,732.
Researchers found that, across all three age groups, both men and women with diabetes experienced a loss of earnings in the 5 years after diagnosis, with men experiencing a relative loss of $3,694 and women experiencing a relative loss of $924. For men, the amount constitutes an 8.01% loss of annual earnings vs. controls in the calendar year before diagnosis; for women, the amount was 3.03%. Men and women experienced the greatest loss of income in the 25- to 45-year age group; $4,260 (8.96%) for men and $3,629 (10.57%) among women.
Socioeconomic characteristics also influenced income loss, according to researchers; men and women with the lowest earnings at baseline appeared to incur the greatest losses, they wrote.
“This is particularly apparent in the first and second earnings deciles in the youngest age group, where relative losses are exceptionally large for both men ($7,375; 122.22%) and women ($8,280; 244.49%),” the researchers wrote. “It is worth highlighting, however, that relative losses amongst the lowest earners are much less pronounced in the older age groups.”
The researchers noted that, although there are clear, nominal differences between men and women, there is similarity in the earning trends among both sexes, and added that the study presents a “rather negative picture” for people with diabetes of working age.
“While there may be a number of mitigating factors making it difficult to determine who feels financial strain accruing from diagnosis with diabetes most keenly, the figures we present with respect to young people who are low earners are especially alarming,” the researchers wrote. “Although we do not know whether the relative losses observed in this population would continue beyond 5 years postdiagnosis, the losses experienced after 5 years already mark an economic disadvantage that could potentially affect an individual throughout their adult life.” – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosures: Endocrine Today was unable to determine relevant financial disclosures.
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