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What chronic health conditions are the most frequent causes of work limitation?
The chronic health condition most frequently reported to cause work limitation is heart disease at 2.1 million conditions (10.9% of all conditions cited as causing work limitation), followed by orthopedic impairment of the back or neck at 2.0 million (10.5%), intervertebral disk disorders at 1.5 million (7.8%), osteoarthritis and allied disorders at 1.3 million (6.8%), and orthopedic impairment of the lower extremities at 861,000 (4.5%).
Technical Note: Chronic condition groups are based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9) codes as adapted by National Center for Health Statistics.
The top five chronic conditions causing work limitation.
Graphic: Bar chart.
Source: LaPlante, 1995
Survey: NHIS 1992