Impact of chronic disease on the mid-age employment in Taiwan.

Chronic diseases, also known as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), have become the leading causes of deaths and disability around the world. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes are also listed in the top 10 causes of deaths in Taiwan for decades. This study aims to investigate the relationship the chronic diseases and the mid-age employment in Taiwan. We estimate the impact of the chronic diseases on employment using the 2009 NHIS data of Taiwan using 2 kinds of probit model. In addition, we show that a usual probit model can underestimate the negative effect of NCDs on mid-age employment. To reduce the productivity loss from the NCDs, policymakers can increase the awareness of risk of these chronic diseases through media and the adult preventive care services, which is free for the people aged 40 and above in Taiwan.