Contemporary prevalence and incidence of work disability associated with rheumatoid arthritis in the US

Abstract

Objective. To provide a contemporary estimate of the prevalence and incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) work disability and examine its permanence over time. Methods. Data were collected semiannually from 5,384 subjects with rheumatologist-diagnosed RA. We examined prevalence in subgroups formed by ϳ5-year disease duration intervals using data from subjects age <64 years who were employed at disease onset. Annual incidence was examined longitudinally among subjects who supplied data in 2003, 2004, or 2005, were employed at disease onset and in a year's first survey, and were age <63 years. For work disability permanence we used longitudinal data from all subjects who became work disabled and observed whether they later returned to work. Results. Mean age of subjects was 52 years, 82% were female, 63% had more than a high school education, mean disease duration was 14 years, and mean Health Assessment Questionnaire score was 1.0. The prevalence of any premature work cessation was 23% in subjects with 1-3 years duration, 35% in those with 10 years, and 51% in those with >25 years RA duration. Arthritis-attributed work cessation was 14%, 29%, and 42%, respectively. Annual incidence of any premature work cessation was ϳ10% and arthritis-attributed work cessation incidence was ϳ6%. Thirty-nine percent of subjects who stopped working later returned to work. Conclusion. Work disability prevalence in this sample was high (35% within 10 years disease duration), but may represent a decline from the 50% prevalence reported in 1987. Annual incidence of work disability was higher than prior studies, but the return to work rate was also higher.

Work Productivity Loss in Early Arthritis During the First 3 Years of Disease: A Study From a French National Multicenter Cohort

“…Before the era of therapy with a biologic agent, RA resulted in significant absenteeism and therefore substantial productivity losses (11,12). The first years of disease were found to be particularly important in establishing permanent disability and high disability costs (13)(14)(15).apy with new biologic agents and treatment strategies on WP in RA patients, reporting a decrease in WP loss, but most of these studies were controlled trials over short periods and often enrolled patients with established RA (16 -23).…”

Randomized prospective study of a work place ergonomic intervention for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis

“…US residents with arthritis who are working report that, on average, they miss 1 day of work every 2 weeks due to arthritis-related impairments (4). A number of longitudinal studies have reported a work attrition rate of 26 -33% following an initial diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and that 50% of individuals with RA are projected to be unable to work 10 years after the initial diagnosis (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10).…”

Social Security Work Disability and Its Predictors in Patients With Fibromyalgia

“…Analyses of RA and OA patients were restricted to the determination of fibromyalgia status and the presence or absence of SSD, as described below. Detailed analyses of disability in RA has been reported previously by the NDB (17,18), as have detailed comparisons of predictor variables in RA versus fibromyalgia (19).…”