Toward an epidemiology of work disability.

The indirect cost of illness due to lost wages exceeds the cost of medical services by a large margin. Social characteristics of persons with physical impairment are more important than the characteristics of their medical condition in predicting whether disability will lead to work loss. Public policy toward disability currently emphasizes the "human capital" with which persons with impairments confront the labor market; this study suggests a new emphasis on social characteristics of the workplace.