OBJECTIVE -The purpose of this study was to longitudinally examine the effect of diabetes on labor market outcomes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Using secondary data from the first two waves (1992 and 1994) of the Health and Retirement Study, we identified 7,055 employed respondents (51-61 years of age), 490 of whom reported having diabetes in wave 1. We estimated the effect of diabetes in wave 1 on the probability of working in wave 2 using probit regression. For those working in wave 2, we modeled the relationships between diabetic status in wave 1 and the change in hours worked and work-loss days using ordinary least-squares regressions and modeled the presence of health-related work limitations using probit regression. All models control for health status and job characteristics and are estimated separately by sex.RESULTS -Among individuals with diabetes, the absolute probability of working was 4.4 percentage points less for women and 7.1 percentage points less for men relative to that of their counterparts without diabetes. Change in weekly hours worked was not statistically significantly associated with diabetes. Women with diabetes had 2 more work-loss days per year compared with women without diabetes. Compared with individuals without diabetes, men and women with diabetes were 5.4 and 6 percentage points (absolute increase), respectively, more likely to have work limitations.CONCLUSIONS -This article provides evidence that diabetes affects patients, employers, and society not only by reducing employment but also by contributing to work loss and healthrelated work limitations for those who remain employed. Diabetes Care 28:2662-2667, 2005T he medical care costs associated with diabetes create a considerable economic burden for patients, families, and society (1,2). Productivity losses from diabetes have been estimated to be almost half ($40 billion) of the medical costs ($92 billion) associated with diabetes in 2002 (1). As the prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. has increased (3), so too have associated economic burdens (4). The increased prevalence (5) among younger individuals suggests that diabetes will become more common in the working-age population. Consequently, employment and work productivity of individuals with diabetes are important issues for patients, families, employers, and policy makers. In this study, we examine the effect of diabetes on labor market outcomes of employed U.S. adults aged 51-61 using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS).Several studies have found negative associations between diabetes and employment outcomes (6 -10). The magnitude of the effect of diabetes on employment varies from 4 to 22 percentage points. Diabetes can affect employment in a number of ways. First, diabetes complications may prevent working entirely or increase absenteeism for those who work (11). Second, productivity while at work may also be impaired (12). Third, individuals with diabetes may face employment discrimination. In some cases, especially because of the risk of hypogl...

Heritability, the proportion of phenotypic variance explained by genetic factors, can be estimated from pedigree data 1 , but such estimates are uninformative with respect to the underlying genetic architecture. Analyses of data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on unrelated individuals have shown that for human traits and disease, approximately one-third to two-thirds of heritability is captured by common SNPs 2-5 . It is not known whether the remaining heritability is due to the imperfect tagging of causal variants by common SNPs, in particular if the causal variants are rare, or other reasons such as overestimation of heritability from pedigree data. Here we show that pedigree heritability for height and body mass index (BMI) appears to be fully recovered from whole-genome sequence (WGS) data on 21,620 unrelated individuals of European ancestry. We assigned 47.1 million genetic variants to groups based upon their minor allele frequencies (MAF) and linkage disequilibrium (LD) with variants nearby, and estimated and partitioned variation accordingly. The estimated heritability was 0.79 (SE 0.09) for height and 0.40 (SE 0.09) for BMI, consistent with pedigree estimates. Low-MAF variants in low LD with neighbouring variants were enriched for heritability, to a greater extent for protein altering variants, consistent with negative selection thereon. Cumulatively variants in the MAF range of 0.0001 to 0.1 explained 0.54 (SE 0.05) and 0.51 (SE 0.11) of heritability for height and BMI, respectively. Our results imply that the still missing heritability of complex traits and disease is accounted for by rare variants, in particular those in regions of low LD.

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Objective The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented a policy in 2012 that penalizes hospitals for ‘excessive’ all-cause hospital readmissions within 30 days after discharge for heart failure (HF), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and pneumonia. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of psychiatric comorbidities on 30-day all-cause readmissions for heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia. Methods Longitudinal study from 2009-2011 within 11 Mental Health Research Network (MHRN) affiliated health systems. Data were derived from the HMO Research Network Virtual Data Warehouse. Participants were individuals admitted to the hospital for HF, AMI, and pneumonia. All index inpatient hospitalizations for HF, AMI and pneumonia were captured (n=160,169 patient index admissions). Psychiatric diagnoses were measured for the year prior to admission. All-cause readmissions within 30 days of discharge were the outcome variable. Results Approximately 18% of all individuals with these conditions were readmitted within 30-days. The rate was 5% greater for individuals with a past-year psychiatric comorbidity (21.7%) than for those without (16.5%; p<.001). Depression, anxiety, and dementia were associated with more readmissions for those with index hospitalizations for all three conditions independently and combined (p<.05). Substance use and bipolar disorders were linked with higher readmissions for those with initial HF and pneumonia hospitalizations (p<.05). Readmission rates declined overall from 2009-2011. Conclusions Individuals with HF, AMI, and pneumonia experience high rates of readmission, but psychiatric comorbidities appear to increase that risk. Future readmission interventions should consider adding mental health components.

TZD use was associated with an increased risk for fractures in women, particularly at ages above 65 yr. Clinicians should be aware of this association when considering TZD therapy so as to appropriately manage and counsel their patients.