The dynamics of the gradient between child's health and family income: Evidence from Canada.

Children from low-income families are on average associated with poorer health. Using data on 8, 019 children from who participated in the first five cycles of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (1994/95-2002/03), we find that the gradient of family income on children's health is statistically significant and becomes more pronounced as children age. This conclusion is consistent with some previous studies and the results are more robust in that the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 is used as an alternative measure of children's health, which is conventionally measured using ordinal self-rated health. We also observe that the strong gradient withstands some "third factor" explanations such as parental health and children's health at birth. However, regarding the potential causes of the strong and steepening gradient, contrary to the previous U.S. evidence that attributes part of the gradient to the protective effect of family income on the incidence and severity of children's health problems at birth and chronic conditions (Case et al., 2002), we find no evidence suggesting that children from low-income families suffer more from poor health at birth or recover more slowly from poor health at birth and that higher family income reduces the incidence of chronic conditions or buffers the adverse effects of chronic conditions. The contrast between Canadian and U.S. children may reflect the effects of universal health insurance in Canada. Furthermore, using local unemployment rates to instrument for family income, we find that family income has a statistically significant and economically meaningful causal effect on children's health and that OLS estimates may underestimate the positive impact of family income on children's health. Our findings suggest that universal health insurance may cushion the adverse effects of poor health at birth and chronic conditions but does not eliminate the strong income-related inequality in child health.

Understanding the correlation between Alzheimer's Disease polygenic risk, wealth, and the composition of wealth holdings.

We investigate how the genetic risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease (AD) relates to saving behavior. Using nationally representative data from the 1996-2014 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we find that genetic predisposition for AD correlates with, but is not causally related to how older individuals' hold wealth in different asset types. People with a higher AD polygenic risk score (PGS) hold roughly 20 per cent less wealth in IRAs and contribute about 24 percent less to IRAs between survey periods. We hypothesize that people with a high risk of AD choose different portfolios: (i) because they know their genetic risk of developing AD from parental history, (ii) because they have the lower cognitive capacity, and (iii) because they indirectly learn about their genetic predisposition for AD as they age. Our extended model results show that the first two hypotheses do not account for the observed correlation. Consistent with the third hypothesis, the interaction between age and the AD PGS accounts for the correlation between genetic traits and asset holdings. Our findings have far-reaching implications for researchers using genetic data: when indirect learning about own predispositions is possible, correlations between genes and choices must be interpreted with caution.

Gender differences in retirement planning: A longitudinal study among Spanish Registered Nurses.

BACKGROUND: Consistent patterns of gender differences in retirement planning behaviours have been shown but little is known about these behaviours among nurses. AIMS: To analyse the antecedents of the behaviours to prepare for retirement in nurses older than 55 and to identify differences as a function of gender. METHODS: A two-wave longitudinal study with Spanish nurses (n = 132). RESULTS: Statistically significant gender differences were revealed. Specifically, paths from financial knowledge to public protection and self-insurance as well as paths from goals clarity to public protection all differed by gender. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns of retirement planning differentiated by gender apparently continue to emerge. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The study adds evidence showing that female nurses continue to rely on public protection as a solid support for their retirement. Despite their greater awareness of the importance of health care and social relations, savings and finance are more neglected by female nurses. Intervention should be aimed at fostering financial literacy of the entire nursing population, but particularly, the access of women to this training. Secondly, given that the differences persist, advance planning of social actions to protect those who will be living alone and economically helpless in old age.

The sunshine act and medical publications: Guidance from professional medical associations.

OBJECTIVE: To review guidance from professional medical associations to physicians on the Sunshine Act, with a focus on industry support for medical publications. METHODS: Using 'Sunshine Act' as a search term, we searched PubMed (dates February 2013 to November 2014) and the 'grey literature' using Google and Google Scholar. Online information was extracted from websites of pre-identified professional medical associations. RESULTS: Some professional medical associations have published peer-reviewed recommendations, position statements or general advice on their websites and in journals around the Sunshine Act. Associations also provided broad online educational resources for physicians. There was universal agreement between peer-reviewed publications, including guidelines, for the need for full transparency and disclosure of industry support. Surveys by some professional associations showed variance in opinion on the forecasted impact of the Sunshine Act on physician-industry relationships. There was scarce information specifically related to reporting requirements for industry-supported medical publications. CONCLUSIONS: There is a shortage of information for physicians from professional associations regarding the Sunshine Act and support for medical publications. Due to the lack of clear guidance regarding support for publications, there are presently varying interpretations of the Sunshine Act. The literature debates the potential impact of the Sunshine Act and expresses some concerns that physician-enabled innovation in drug development may be hindered.