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Research news
As an ICAA member you can access a library of over 2,000 peer-reviewed and published studies. You can also stay up to date with current research by reading ICAA Research Review, the online newsletter of breaking news in health, wellness and demographics. Published 45 times each year, Research Review is emailed to ICAA members. To learn more about becoming an ICAA member please visit, www.icaa.cc or telephone ICAA toll-free at 866-335-9777.
Study demonstrates return on investment for workplace wellness
US employers can save $1.65 in healthcare expenses for every dollar spent on a comprehensive employee wellness program, according to a new study. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based health insurer Highmark, Inc., conducted a study of its own corporate wellness program, which saved US$1.3 million during a four-year period. Researchers examined the healthcare costs reflected in the medical claims of employees who participated in wellness programs, as well as nonparticipants with comparable health risks. Reduced inpatient costs yielded the highest return on investment, partially due to increased use of screenings and medications among employees, the researchers found.
“This study used a rigorous methodology to examine the long-term impact of Highmark’s health promotion program on healthcare expenditures,” says Ron Goetzel, PhD, director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. “Participants and nonparticipants in the program were carefully matched to one another to minimize the effect of selection bias, a common threat to the validity of worksite health promotion studies involving workers in real-world settings,” adds Goetzel, also a vice president at Thomson Healthcare and a contributing researcher to the study.
“There is a common misconception that these studies represent people who are already healthy and motivated,” says Brian Day, EdD, director of advanced analytics at Highmark. “It’s simply not the case,” he notes. “One of the most significant findings showed that those involved in wellness activities were not healthier at the start of the program.”
Source: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 50(2), 126–137, 2008
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MetLife profiles Boomers at age 62—with some surprises
Leading-edge American Boomers appear to be more conventional than previously thought—at least that’s what the findings of a recent survey suggest. Conducted by the MetLife Mature Market Institute in Westport, Connecticut, Boomers Ready to Launch profiles the first Baby Boomers as they turn 62. Among those surveyed, a majority of Boomers to reach age 62 in 2008 report that:
- they are retired or will be fully retired by age 65
- they’ll collect Social Security by age 65
- they’ve been married only once and have 2.4 children on average (among those with children, 78% have grandchildren, which represents 66% of total respondents)
“Contrary to what most of us have believed about the Baby Boomers who came of age in the turbulent 1960s, the group is very much like the ‘Silent Generation’ that preceded them,” says Sandra Timmermann, EdD, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. “Despite the social and political turbulence of their youth, these leading-edge Boomers have established very traditional lifestyle characteristics. They were married once, had two children and feel they’ve done a decent job of caring for their family, their community and themselves.”
Boomers Ready to Launch reveals that a majority (77%) of respondents born in 1946 say they are in good-to-excellent health; their net worth (excluding home value) is an average of nearly $260,000, and their average annual income is approximately $71,400. They are also empty nesters. Among respondents who have children, fewer than one in five have children living at home (however 8% of those who are grandparents have grandchildren living with them). In addition, 27% of respondents have one parent still living, while 5% have both parents. This means that caregiving for an older relative is no longer a responsibility for a majority of these leading-edge Boomers.
An interesting finding for marketers, almost half the survey respondents (45%) like the term “Baby Boomer” outright, while another 38% are somewhat in favor of it; just 17% don’t like this name. As for the term “retirement,” 52% like it, 31% like it somewhat, and 18% don’t like it.
While a majority of Boomers surveyed may favor “the term ‘retirement’ to describe their next transition,” Timmermann advises that they maintain their “connection to the youth culture they ignited. On average, as far as they’re concerned, they’re not really going to be ‘old’ for another 17 years,” she says—but health status is the deciding factor. The age at which these Boomers believe they’ll be “old” is, on average, 78. However, those in excellent health say they’ll be old at 83, while those in poor health put that number at 74.
“All in all,” concludes Timmermann, “this is a fairly affluent group who remain in good health with a lot more left to give.”
Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute, December 27, 2007
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Disability and disease: one may not follow the other in old age
For a substantial proportion of participants in the New England Centenarian Study, avoiding age-related diseases such as stroke, heart disease and diabetes may not be the key to longevity, report researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC). Rather, avoiding disability may be a key feature in the exceptional survival of these men and women.
Investigators examined the health histories of 739 centenarians and found that about one-third of the subjects had age-related diseases for 15 or more years (disease onset prior to age 85). Yet a full 72% of men and 34% of women in this “survivors-of-disease” group scored in the independent range on the Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index at age 97 or older.
“We expected to find that nearly all centenarians have to compress the time they are sick towards the very end of their lives—otherwise, how could they get to such old age?” says senior author Thomas Perls, MD, MPH, director of BMC’s centenarian study and associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BU). “One factor enabling the survival of these sick centenarians-to-be appears to be a delay or compression of their disability,” Perls states. Adds lead author Dellara Terry, MD, MPH, study codirector and assistant professor of medicine at BU: “The ramifications of our findings are that among older people, morbidity and disability do not always go hand in hand.”
Another interesting finding? Though far fewer in number, male centenarians tend to have significantly better cognition and physical function than their female counterparts. One possible explanation may be that women are simply more resilient compared to men when it comes to aging, and may better handle living with age-related illnesses. In which case, for men to live to 100 or older, they must be in truly amazing shape close to the end of their lives.
Source: Boston University, February 11, 2008; Archives of Internal Medicine, 168(3), 277–283, 2008
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Menopausal women in rural areas need better care and support
Good social support and reliable information are essential for women who find menopause an intense and life-altering experience, especially if they live in rural areas where health services are patchy or inaccessible. That’s the key finding in a recently published Canadian study.
Researchers from a major health provider in Nova Scotia, a predominantly rural province on the country’s Atlantic coast, interviewed 25 women who ranged in age from 43 years to their late 60s, both in focus groups and individually. They found that these women often had to look outside formal healthcare systems for information and support.
“Women living in rural areas described a need to fully understand the often surprising intensity of menopause-related symptoms, including changes to their physical and mental well-being,” says Sheri L. Price, a nurse researcher who specializes in women’s health at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. “The women we interviewed described struggling to sift through excessive and conflicting medical information from a number of Internet and media sources, and said they needed to receive accurate information from sources they trusted.”
Price, who led the research, points out that living in a rural environment can add extra pressures to coping with menopause. “These can include geographical isolation, lack of confidentiality and anonymity, stress from multiple roles (including caring for aging relatives), poverty, and limited healthcare and support services,” she says. The researchers suggest that specially trained nurses and female community leaders could play a key role in building up local support networks and providing good quality information on menopause.
Source: Blackwell Publishing, February 19, 2008; Journal of Advanced Nursing, 61(5), 503–511, 2008
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Work and civic life still important after 65
Adults ages 50 and older are increasingly disregarding age 65 as the time to stop working, finds a poll commissioned by Experience Wave, a Washington, DC-based campaign that aims to help older adults stay engaged in work and civic life. More than 70% of age 50-plus respondents believe that keeping experienced workers engaged in society—either through continuing work or volunteering—is very important. And three in four (76%) say that society should invest in resources to guarantee elders opportunities to stay engaged.
Of the 1,000-plus survey participants, 53% are retired and 45% are still in the workforce in some capacity. More than one in four respondents (27%) who have yet to retire either don’t know when they will retire or do not plan to retire at all. Among those who plan to retire, 59% expect to volunteer for a nonprofit or community organization. An additional 14% plan to get training or learn a new skill for a different career. Finally, 53% of the survey participants view the coming wave of Baby Boomers hitting “retirement age” as an asset to society, agreeing that they represent a pool of skilled workers with more time to dedicate to their communities.
Source: Experience Wave, November 12, 2007
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Neck pain study sheds light on care
The Bone and Joint Decade 2000–2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders recently published a 236-page review of the current research on neck pain. The multinational and interdisciplinary study team includes Canadian, American, South American, Australasian and European researchers. This group was created to help neck pain sufferers and health professionals use the best research evidence to prevent, diagnose and manage neck pain. The Task Force’s seven-year study finds that some alternative therapies such as acupuncture, neck manipulation and massage are better choices for managing most common neck pain than many current practices. Also included in the short-list of best options for relief are exercises, education, neck mobilization, low-level laser therapy and pain relievers.
In addition to reviewing the existing body of research on neck pain, the Task Force also initiated a new study into the association between chiropractic care of the neck and stroke—which has sparked controversy in recent years. This research found that individuals who visit a chiropractor are no more likely to experience a stroke than those who visit a family physician. This type of stroke commonly begins with neck pain and/or headache, the study concludes, causing the person to seek care from a chiropractor or family physician before the stroke fully develops.
Source: American Chiropractic Association, February 15, 2008; Spine, 33(4S), Supplement: S5–S7, 2008
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Health/physical abilities influence when Australians cease working
In 2006–07, 3.2 million Australian workers ages 45 and over planned to retire at some time in the future, according to figures released in January 2008 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. “Financial security” was the most common factor for influencing people’s decisions about when they intended to retire (44% men, 41% women). “Personal health and physical abilities” was the next most common deciding factor (40% men, 40% women), followed by “reaching the eligibility age for an old age (or service) pension” (12% men, 11% women). Among the country’s current retirees, health/physical abilities had affected retirement age for many, this research shows. Of the 2 million retirees ages 45-plus who had worked in the last 20 years, “own sickness, injury or disability” was the second most reported reason for ceasing to work (29% men, 19% women), the statistical organization affirms.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, January 22, 2008; Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia, July 2006 to June 2007 (cat. no. 6238.0).
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