The contribution of morbidity and unemployment for the reduced labor market participation of individuals with neurofibromatosis 1 in Finland.

Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is a multisystem disorder associated with, for example, a high risk for cancer, a variety of behavioral and cognitive deficits, low educational attainment and decreased income. We now examined the labor market participation of individuals with NF1. We analyzed the numbers of days of work, unemployment, and sickness allowance among 742 Finnish individuals with NF1 aged 20-59 years using nationwide register data from Statistics Finland and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.

The rare disease neurofibromatosis 1 as a source of hereditary economic inequality: Evidence from Finland.

Purpose: This study investigated whether individuals with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) fare worse than individuals without NF1 in terms of economic well-being. NF1 is relatively common in the population and provides an informative case of a rare hereditary disease.

Methods: We examined a subset of 692 individuals with verified NF1 from the Finnish total population-based NF1 cohort and compared that with 7407 control individuals matched for age, sex, and municipality during 1997-2014.

A rare disease and education: Neurofibromatosis type 1 decreases educational attainment.

Rare heritable syndromes may affect educational attainment. Here, we study education in neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) that is associated with multifaceted medical, social and cognitive consequences. Educational attainment in the Finnish population-based cohort of 1408 individuals with verified NF1 was compared with matched controls using Cox proportional hazards model with delayed entry and competing risk for death.

Does attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication reduce entrepreneurship?

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly inheritable condition with a rather stable prevalence over time and geography, and it is associated with a broad range of negative life outcomes. Increasing knowledge on the condition has led to a growing trend of dampening ADHD symptoms through medication. Although this development has led to many positive outcomes, the broader societal implications are still poorly understood.

Moving to become healthier?

This paper examines individuals' health and whether it improves when individuals move from a region with poorer health on average to a region with better health on average. We used data from Finland, which is a country with large regional differences in health behaviours and outcomes. We found no evidence that moving from a less healthy region to a healthier region would have any significant effect on the health of individuals who move compared with the health of other individuals.

Do established health-related quality-of-life measures adequately capture the impact of chronic conditions on subjective well-being?

Objectives: The paper explores how two well-established, utility-based health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) measures (EQ-5D and 15D) capture the negative effects of various chronic conditions on subjective well-being (SWB). This is important, as both SWB and health utility can be important aims of health policy and instruments in resource allocation.

Methods: A general population survey representing the Finnish population aged 30 years and over covering 25 self-reported somatic conditions and four psychiatric disorders diagnosed by interviews.

The relationship between physical work and the height premium: finnish evidence.

This paper examines the role of physical strength in the determination of the height wage premium by using the "Health 2000 in Finland" data that contain both self-reported information on the physical strenuousness of work, and information on muscle mass from medical examinations. The results suggest that there are generally no distinct differences in the height premium between four different work strain categories. We also find that muscle mass is positively associated with wages per se.

Obesity and labour market success in Finland: the difference between having a high BMI and being fat.

This paper examines the relationship between obesity and labour market success in Finland, using various indicators of individual body composition along with body mass index (BMI). Weight, height, fat mass and waist circumference are measured by health professionals. We find that only waist circumference has a negative association with wages for women, whereas no obesity measure is significant in the linear wage models for men.

Economic inequality and population health: looking beyond aggregate indicators.

This paper studies the sensitivity of various health indicators to income inequality as measured by regional Gini coefficients, using individual microdata from Finland over the period 1993-2005. There is no overall association between income and health at the regional level. We discovered that, among men, there are no significant associations between income inequality and several measures of health status.

Alcohol consumption and sickness absence: evidence from microdata.

Background: Aggregate time-series evidence has shown that overall per capita alcohol consumption is associated with sickness absence. This study re-examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and sickness absence by using individual-level microdata and methods that yield results which are less likely to be due to spurious correlations.

Methods: Data on sickness absence and alcohol consumption for 18 Finnish regions over the period 1993-2005 was used.

The physical strenuousness of work is slightly associated with an upward trend in the BMI.

This paper examines the relationship between the physical strenuousness of work and the BMI in Finland, using individual microdata at 5-year intervals over the period 1972--2002. Data came from the National FINRISK Study which contains self-reported information on the physical strenuousness of a respondent's occupation. Our estimates show that the changes in the physical strenuousness of work explain around 7% at most of the increase in BMI for Finnish males observed over a period of 30 years.

The association of alcohol dependency with employment probability: evidence from the population survey 'Health 2000 in Finland'.

In this paper, we investigate to what extent alcohol-dependent individuals fare worse in the Finnish labour market, using data from a large Finnish health survey. We used the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence assessed by a composite international diagnostic interview (CIDI). We find that there are substantial disadvantages for alcohol-dependent men and women in the labour market, in the sense that they have lower employment probabilities.

Does a slump really make you thinner? Finnish micro-level evidence 1978-2002.

This paper explores the relationship between height-adjusted weight and economic conditions in Finland, using individual microdata for the period 1978-2002. If anything, the results reveal that an improvement in regional economic conditions measured by the employment rate produces a decrease in BMI, other things being equal. The Finnish evidence presented does not support the conclusions reported for the USA, according to which temporary economic slowdowns are good for health.

Abstaining from alcohol and labour market underperformance--have we forgotten the 'dry' alcoholics?

Aims: To investigate whether abstainers fare worse than non-abstainers on the labour market because a subset of the abstainers are ex-drinkers with alcohol problems.

Methods: In the cross-sectional population survey 'health 2000 in Finland' (n = 10 000) carried out in 2000, alcohol dependency was measured using the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence. The CIDI (composite international diagnostic interview) was applied to ascertain lifetime DSM-IV diagnoses for substance abuse diagnoses, including alcohol dependence.

Alcohol-related mortality, drinking behavior, and business cycles: are slumps really dry seasons?

This paper explores the connection between alcohol-related mortality, drinking behavior, and macroeconomic conditions in Finland using both aggregate and microlevel data from recent decades. The aggregate data reveal that an improvement in economic conditions produces a decrease in alcohol-related mortality. Microlevel data show that alcohol consumption increases during economic expansion while the probability of being a drinker remains unchanged.

A note on the impact of hours worked on mortality in OECD countries.

We investigate whether an increase in hours worked per employed person raises the total mortality rate in a sample of 23 OECD countries. We build on earlier research but extend the analysis by introducing the number of hours worked per employed as an additional regressor. Contrary to our expectations, we found that an increase in the number of hours worked actually has significantly negative effect on mortality rate, even controlling for income.