Disability Work among Argentinean Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Objective: 1) To analyze the prevalence of Work Disability (WD) in RA Argentinian patients who are attending at the National Rehabilitation Service (NRS); 2) To measure general, socioeconomics and disease characteristics in this population; 3) To characterize the associated factors of work disability in this group. Methods: Design: cross section observational study. RA patients attending the NRS were included in consecutive form. Clinical, demographic and ra-diological data were collected. All patients answered about their employment status. WD was defined if the work status was unemployed due to RA, retirement prior to the normal age, or disabled pension. Comparing analysis among pa-tients with and without paid work was done. Housewives, retired patients and students were excluded from the compar-ing analysis. Results: Three hundred and eleven patients were included (n = 311). The prevalence of WD was 44.05% (n = 137). During the study eighty 5 (27.3%) patients were in paid employment, 48 (15.3%) were retired, 39 (12.5%) were housewives, and 2 (0.6%) patients were students. Factor associated to WD were female sex, more than 5 years of disease duration, have health insurance, education beyond high school, and greater functional limitation : HAQ > 1 and function class 3 - 4. In the multivariable logistic regression model female sex was a significant and independent predictor of WD. Have health insurance; and more than high school education were protector factors of WD in this model. Conclusion: WD prevalence in this sample was higher than other countries. Socioeconomics factors more than diseases factors were significant predictors of productivity loss in this sample.

Share and Cite:

T. Natalia, S. Caturelli, J. Spengler and G. Roulet, "Disability Work among Argentinean Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis," Open Journal of Rheumatology and Autoimmune Diseases, Vol. 2 No. 3, 2012, pp. 73-76. doi: 10.4236/ojra.2012.23014.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] D. L. Scott and S. Steer, “The Course of Established Rheumatoid Arthritis,” Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology, Vol. 21, No. 5, 2007, pp. 943-967. doi:10.1016/j.berh.2007.05.006
[2] Saralynn and H. A. ScD, “Update on Work Disability in Rheumatic Diseases,” Current Opinion in Rheumatology, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2001, pp. 93-98. doi:10.1097/00002281-200103000-00001
[3] K. Puolakka, H. Kautiainen, et al., “Monetary Value of Lost Productivity over a Five-Year Follow Up in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Estimated on the Basis of Official Register Data on Patients’ Sickness Absence and Gross Income: Experience from the FIN-RACo Trial,” Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Vol. 65, No. 7, 2006, pp. 899-904. doi:10.1136/ard.2005.045807
[4] A. Joung, J. Dixey, et al., “How Does Functional Disability in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Affect Patients and Their Lives? Results from 5 Years of Follow-Up in 732 Patients from the Early RA Study,” Rheumatology, Vol. 39, No. 6, 2000, pp. 603-611. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/39.6.603
[5] A.-C. Rat and M.-C. Boissier, “Rheumatoid Arthritis: Direct and Indirect Costs,” Joint Bone Spine, Vol. 71, No. 6, 2004, pp. 518-524. doi:10.1016/j.jbspin.2004.01.003
[6] E. M. Barret, D. G. Scott, et al., “The Impact of Rheumatoid Arthritis on Employment Status in the Early Years of Desease: A UK Community Based Study,” Rheumatology, Vol. 39, No. 12, 2000, pp. 1403-1409. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/39.12.1403
[7] A. A. Kalla and M. Tikly, “Rheumatoid Arthritis in the Developing World,” Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology, Vol. 17, No. 5, 2003, pp. 863-875. doi:10.1016/S1521-6942(03)00047-0
[8] S. Allaire, F. Wolfe, et al., “Contemporany Prevalence and Incidence of Work Disability Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis in US,” Arthritis Care & Research, Vol. 59, No. 4, 2008, pp. 474-480. doi:10.1002/art.23538
[9] A. Young, J. Dixey, et al., “Which Patients Stop Working Because of Rheumatoid Arthritis? Results of Five Years’ Follow Up in 732 Patients from the Early RA Study (ERAS),” Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Vol. 61, No. 4, 2002, pp. 335-340. doi:10.1136/ard.61.4.335
[10] M. J. Plant and M. M. O’Sullivan, “What Factors Influence Functional Ability in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Do They Alter over Time?” Rheumatology, Vol. 44, No. 9, 2005, pp. 1181-1185. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keh707
[11] K. Puolakka, H. Kautiainen, T. M?tt?nen, et al., “Predictors of Productivity Loss in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: A 5-Year-Follow-Up Study,” Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Vol. 64, No. 1, 2005, pp. 130-133. doi:10.1136/ard.2003.019034
[12] T. K. Kvein, “Epidemiology of Disability in Rheumatoid Arthritis,” Rheumatology, Vol. 41, No. 2, 2002, pp. 121-123. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/41.2.121
[13] T. K. Kvien, T. Uhlig, et al., “Epidemiological Aspects of Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Sex Ratio,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 1069, 2006, pp. 212-222. doi:10.1196/annals.1351.019
[14] M. Wallenius, J. F. Skomsvoll, et al., “Comparison of Work Disability and Health-Related Quality of Life between Males and Females with Rheumatoid Arthritis below the Age of 45 Years,” Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology, Vol. 38, No, 3, 2008, pp. 178-183. doi:10.1080/03009740802400594
[15] A. Macedo, S. Oakley, et al., “An Examination of Work Instability, Functional Impairment, Ant Disease Activity in Employed Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis,” The Journal of Rheumatology, Vol. 36, No. 2, 2009, pp. 1-6. doi:10.3899/jrheum.071001
[16] C. Han, J. Smolen, et al., “Comparision of Employability Outcomes among Patients with Early or Long-Standing Rheumatoid Arthritis,” Arthritis Care & Research, Vol. 59, No. 4, 2008, pp. 510-514. doi:10.1002/art.23541
[17] S. Lillegraven and T. K. Kvien, “Measuring Disability and Quality of Life in Established Rheumatoid Arthritis,” Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology, Vol. 21, No. 5, 2007, pp. 827-840. doi:10.1016/j.berh.2007.05.004
[18] P. Katz and A. Morris, “Subclinical Disability in Valued Life Activities among Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis,” Arthritis Care & Research, Vol. 59, No. 10, 2008, pp. 1416-1423. doi:10.1002/art.24110

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.