The assessment of work productivity and activity impairment in Behçet’s disease

Abstract

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between the course of Behçet's disease (BD), disease-specific fears, and work productivity and activity impairment. Materials and methods:In this cross-sectional study, 110 consecutive BD patients were included. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire was used.Results: In the group of employed patients, 30.41% had missed work during the previous week. The mean percentages of daily activity impairment were higher in patients with musculoskeletal involvement (39.81 ± 33.61%) compared to those without (23.48 ± 32.45%) (P = 0.008). A greater decrease in working hours was observed in patients with eye involvement (45.52 ± 15.29 h) compared to those without (54.15 ± 15.29 h) (P = 0.007). More of the male patients (67.8%) were afraid of losing their jobs compared to females (30%) (P = 0.000). Conclusion:The highest levels of lost productivity and the most severe effects on daily life are consequences of eye and musculoskeletal involvement in the study population. More effective therapeutic approaches are required to improve the working lives of patients with BD. Moreover, male patients had a higher fear of losing their jobs, suggesting a match between the expected clinical course and the predictions of BD patients.

Predictive factors for work‐day loss in Behçet's syndrome: A multi‐center study

“…Yet, loss of visual acuity could be seen in spite of aggressive therapy protocols . Although limited information is available for work limitation in BS, weekly working hours is found to be lower in patients with ocular involvement in our previous study …”

“…When the work performance is previously evaluated by using work productivity and activity impairment (WPAI) scale in BS patients, absenteeism, presenteeism and overall work impairment are assessed in BS patients in a 7‐day short period. Weekly working hours are found to be low in BS patients with ocular involvement . In addition, absenteeism evaluated by WPAI is found to be associated with disease activity in BS .…”

“…In this perspective, work limitation as an indirect cost element is a critical issue for health policies. It has a significant impact on economic life of both employed patients and their employers . On this basis, it is necessary to define work limitation‐related factors in patients with chronic diseases to improve work performance of patients …”

“…Occurrence of unpredictable relapses and life‐threatening conditions are crucial components of the disease pattern; workplace problems could be seen in patients with severe organ involvement, especially young males . Since workplace problems are thought to be an indicator to modify treatment protocols of employed patients for physicians, the evaluation of employment life of BS patients is critical in disease management . In this perspective, the mean sick leave days or disabled days as workdays lost for the last year were reported as 173 ± 79 for neurological involvement, 134 ± 87 for ocular involvement and 75 ± 100 for vascular involvement in BS in a previous study .…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5] On this basis, it is necessary to define work limitation-related factors in patients with chronic diseases to improve work performance of patients. 2,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Behçet's syndrome (BS) is a chronic disease presenting as mild disease course regarding mucocutaneous manifestations and musculoskeletal involvement as well as severe disease course with ocular, vascular, central nervous system and gastrointestinal involvement. A severe disease course is commonly seen in males and treated with immunosuppressive medications (IS).…”