Biomedical subjects

L Lillard

Publications and source records attributed to L Lillard.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

Functional associations of "trouble seeing".

The purpose of this study was to determine how vision problems affect health status. The information was collected in 1990 from 2,249 household heads and spouses over 50 years of age during an annual survey of a nationally representative sample that was adjusted for attrition and nonresponse. Vision problems were defined as "trouble seeing (even with glasses or contact lenses)." Health status was measured principally with the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36. Regression analyses found a significant relationship between "trouble seeing" and each of five health-status domains. We conclude that it may not be appropriate to require specific functional limitations as a precondition for cataract surgery and that instruments for measuring functional disabilities related to vision should include more general questions.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1997

Long-term determinants of patterns of health insurance coverage in the Medicare population.

Using data from the 1990 Health Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we examine the determinants of patterns of insurance coverage among the elderly. Among those with supplemental insurance through an employment-based source, the primary determinant of having insurance is work history, specifically job tenure and occupation of household heads and their spouses. Among those who do not have employer-provided insurance, wealth is the most important economic factor in the purchase of private insurance. Blacks, persons with less education and women household heads are less likely to purchase supplemental insurance. We find little evidence that persons in prior poor health are more likely to purchase supplemental insurance, and the most important determinant of dental or drug coverage is having employer-based insurance. The current trend toward decreased generosity of post-retirement benefits implies that fewer older Americans will have insurance for these services.

Black or African American↗

PubMed1997

Reproductive history, socioeconomic status, and self-reported health status of women aged 50 years or older.

OBJECTIVES: This paper describes the relationship between self-reported general health status and several facets of reproductive history. METHODS: We analyzed survey data on a national probability sample of 1341 women aged 50 and older from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We used multivariate regression techniques to control for differences in health indices that assessed health status and functioning. RESULTS: Women with a history of six or more completed pregnancies were found to be disadvantaged in educational attainment, financial resources, and health status compared with women with no or fewer pregnancies. When current sociodemographic factors were controlled, six or more pregnancies were associated with worse general health and worse physical role functioning. When sociodemographic factors and number of births were controlled, among women with at least one delivery, women who had experienced an infant's death reported worse health as measured by all three indices. Women with a first delivery before the age of 18 were more likely to report a functional limitation. CONCLUSIONS: Women with high parity status, a history of an infant's death, and an early first pregnancy may be at greater risk of poor health in later life.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1995

Dental expenditures and insurance coverage among older adults.

Using data on 975 elderly persons from the 1990 Health Supplements to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we describe the predictors of expenditures for dental services. Forty-four percent of elderly persons reported using some dental services within a year. Thirteen percent had private dental insurance, and 8% had a separate dental policy. The average total expenditure for those who used any dental services was $378, 88% of which was paid out-of-pocket. Persons with a separate dental insurance policy, younger and better educated persons, and those with greater financial resources were more likely to use dental services.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Sociodemographic and health factors in driving patterns after 50 years of age.

Data from the 1990 Panel Study of Income Dynamics were used to predict, by means of logistic regression, the likelihood that people who had previously driven would continue to drive and to drive after dark after 50 years of age. The results support the conclusion that driving patterns appear to be explained partly by a combination of sociodemographic factors and health status. Furthermore, it is shown that those reported to drive for nondrivers appear to be the same individuals known to provide most informal support for functionally impaired elderly people.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1987

Preventive care: do we practice what we preach?

We used insurance claims from enrollees in the Rand Health Insurance Experiment to determine the amount of selected components of preventive care received by a representative sample of the non-aged population in the United States and to determine whether insurance coverage was an important determinant of that amount. Only 45 percent of infants received timely immunization for DPT and polio; 93 per cent received some well child care by 18 months of age. In the three-year experimental period, only 4 per cent of adults had a tetanus shot, 66 per cent of women aged 17-44 and 57 per cent aged 45-65 received a Pap smear, and 2 per cent of women aged 45-65 had a mammogram. Cost sharing was associated with even less preventive care: 60 per cent of children on the free plan and 49 per cent on cost sharing plans received preventive care of any type. For adults, women on the free plan received more preventive care of several kinds, and those aged 45-65 received more Pap smears than those on cost-sharing plans. Even with free care, most enrollees did not receive adequate preventive care. Thus, free care alone, while significant, is not a sufficient incentive to providing recommended levels of preventive care. The average per person insurance charge for increasing the amount of preventive care to a level consistent with that recommended would be $22 for a complete set of immunizations by age 18 months, $9 for a Pap smear every three years, and $97 for a Pap test and mammogram every three years.

Adolescent↗