Work Disability from Coronary Heart Disease in Women

Abstract

This study investigates the comparatively high rate of work disability from coronary disease in women. A sample of working women and men hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction was followed for two years to ascertain patterns of labor market withdrawal. Women were more likely than men at 24 months to have withdrawn entirely from market work. Multivariate statistical analysis suggests this greater likelihood stems from differences in behavioral responses to disease rather than from differences in disease severity. Economic incentives to resume work are shown to play an especially crucial role in these responses. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Primary emotions in patients after myocardial infarction

“…Such issues may not hold the same significance for females. For example, Chirikos and Nickel (1984) found that women were more likely to withdraw from work following a cardiac episode that was thought to be because of financial inducements not being considered strong enough for them to stay at work.…”

Disability predicted mortality in men but not women with coronary heart disease

“…With advancing age, the risk of CHD is more equal between sexes, and the greater survival of women in most industrialized populations means that the number of women with CHD may even surpass that in men in old age [26]. Women with angina pectoris and MI have been found to be at higher risk for diminished functional capacity and work disability compared to men [27,28]. A recent prospective study concerning gender-specific changes in quality of life following cardiovascular disease [29] showed that premorbid physical functioning in women was no better than that of men after the disease event, and physical functioning deteriorated markedly after the onset of disease, in both women and men.…”

Role Burdens and Physical Health of Women and Men

“…Yet, a broad con-R WOMEN 6 HEALTH clusion that the processes of causation and selection for roles and health are always similar for men and women is not warranted. Other research suggests that social selection does differ (women with serious health problems abandon employment more rapidly than comparable men (Chirikos and Nickel, 1984; but see also Brown and Rawlinson, 1977). We suspect there are more similarities than differences in the processes, but that is a hypothesis which needs more testing.…”