OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative socioeconomic costs of benign cranial base tumors treated with open surgery and gamma knife radiosurgery. METHODS In a retrospective study, we studied 174 patients with benign cranial base tumors, less than 3 cm in diameter (or volume less than 30 ml), admitted in the past 5 years. Group A (n = 94) underwent open surgery for removal...

BACKGROUND Obese individuals have increased morbidity and use of health services. Less is known about the effect of obesity on workers' compensation. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and number and types of workers' compensation claims, associated costs, and lost wo...

Executive Summary This 3-year collaborative research project was designed to provide empirical evidence to substantiate the impact of various employer policies and practices on the prevention and management of workplace disability. It studied a random sample of 220 Michigan establishments with more than 100 employees from seven different industries who responded to a mail survey in the first ha...

PROBLEM Mining in the United States remains one of the most hazardous industries, despite significant reductions in fatal injury rates over the last century. Coal mine fatality rates, for example, have dropped almost a thousand-fold since their peak in 1908. While incidence rates are very important indicators, lost worktime measures offer an alternative metric for evaluating job safety and heal...

CONTEXT Although the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of influenza vaccination are well established for persons aged 65 years or older, the benefits for healthy adults younger than 65 years are less clear. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-benefit of influenza vaccine in preventing influenza-like illness (ILI) and reducing societal costs of ILI among healthy working adults. ...

BACKGROUND Asthma is associated with high indirect costs due to lower work productivity and higher absenteeism and presenteeism. OBJECTIVES To study loss of productivity measured using the lost workday equivalent (LWDE) index and health care utilization in asthmatics depending on age, geographical location, time period, severity, and level of asthma control. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this cro...