Occupational distribution of metabolic syndrome prevalence and incidence differs by sex and is not explained by age and health behavior: results from 75 000 Dutch workers from 40 occupational groups

IntroductionThis study examines the association between 40 occupational groups and prevalence and incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), separately for male and female workers, and whether age and health behaviors can explain the association.Research design and methodsData from 74 857 Lifelines Cohort and Biobank Study participants were used to regress occupational group membership, coded by Statistics Netherlands, on the prevalence and incidence of MetS using logistic and Cox regression analyses. MetS diagnosis was based on physical examinations, blood analysis, and recorded medication use. Information on age, smoking status, physical activity, diet and alcohol consumption was acquired using questionnaires.ResultsBaseline MetS prevalence was 17.5% for males and 10.6% for females. During a median 3.8 years of follow-up, MetS incidence was 7.8% for males and 13.2% for females. One occupational group was associated with an increased MetS risk in both sexes. Six additional occupational groups had an increased risk for MetS among men, four among women. Highest risks were found for male ‘stationary plant and machine operators’ (HR: 1.94; 95% CI 1.26 to 3.00) and female ‘food preparation assistants’ (HR: 1.80; 95% CI 1.01 to 3.22).ConclusionsFindings suggest that occupational group matters for men and women in MetS development, and that differences in MetS prevalence across occupations are not merely a reflection of selection of metabolically unhealthy workers into specific occupations. The striking sex differences in the occupational distribution of MetS indicate that preventive measures should, with some exceptions, target men and women separately.

The Allocation of Talent and U.S. Economic Growth

In 1960, 94 percent of doctors and lawyers were white men. By 2010, the fraction was just 62 percent. Similar changes in other highly‐skilled occupations have occurred throughout the U.S. economy during the last 50 years. Given that the innate talent for these professions is unlikely to have changed differently across groups, the change in the occupational distribution since 1960 suggests that a substantial pool of innately talented women and black men in 1960 were not pursuing their comparative advantage. We examine the effect on aggregate productivity of the convergence in the occupational distribution between 1960 and 2010 through the prism of a Roy model. Across our various specifications, between 20% and 40% of growth in aggregate market output per person can be explained by the improved allocation of talent.

Who Left the South and How Did They Fare?

This chapter shows that, for the southern blacks, migration is a route to economic advancement. To do so, the chapter first investigates the family background of black migrants leaving the South, revealing that young migrants living in the North in 1940 were drawn from households at both the top and the bottom of the occupational distribution. After arriving at their destinations, black migrants did not suffer an earnings penalty in the northern economy, but neither did they out-earn northern-born blacks as some have suggested. Rather, southern migrants earned just as much as northern-born blacks upon arrival in the North and experienced a similar pace of earnings growth over time.