Niccodemi G, Bijwaard G. Education and medication use later in life and the role of intelligence.
THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH ECONOMICS : HEPAC : HEALTH ECONOMICS IN PREVENTION AND CARE 2024;
25:333-361. [PMID:
37129670 DOI:
10.1007/s10198-023-01586-7]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the association between education and disease-specific medications in old age, prescribed by medical doctors, accounting for confounders and how this association is shaped by intelligence. We use administrative data on men including prescribed medication records. To account for endogeneity of education we estimate a structural model, consisting of (i) an ordered probit for educational attainment, (ii) a Gompertz mortality model for survival up to old age, (iii) a probit model for prescribed medications in old age, (iv) a measurement system using IQ tests to identify latent intelligence. The results suggest a strong effect of education on prescribed medications for most medications, except for prescribed medication for cardiac diseases and for depression and anxiety.
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