Health-related factors associated with the healthcare costs of office workers.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative importance of factors associated with total health care costs (THC) among office workers.

METHODS

Biometric and anthropometric values, health-related survey responses, and THC for 214 employees were analyzed. Factors that had a statistically significant (P < 0.05) bivariate correlation with logarithmically transformed THC data were entered into multiple regression analysis.

RESULTS

Age, gender, and SF-36 physical component summary score were identified as THC predictors (F3210 = 20.78, P < 0.001, Radj = 0.218). With physical component summary score excluded, age, gender, and exercise level collectively accounted for an almost identical amount of variance (F3210 = 19.64, P < 0.001, Radj = 0.212). Factorial ANOVA identified a significant interaction between age category and exercise level (F3198 = 3.04, P = 0.030).

CONCLUSIONS

Inactivity was the only modifiable factor found to be predictive of THC, which appears to have an increasing effect with advancing age.