Recent studies suggest that COVID-19 survivors may experience long-term health consequences: in particular, neurological and mental health symptoms might be associated with long-term negative outcomes. This study is a secondary analysis of a larger cohort study and aims to determine the extent to which neurological and mental health sequelae are associated with survivors’ disability. Participants include COVID-19 survivors, with no pre-morbid brain conditions, who were discharged from the COVID-19 Unit of the ASST Spedali Civili Hospital between February and April 2020. At an average of 3.5 months after discharge, they were submitted to a neurological examination and completed the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS-12), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Multivariable regression analysis was carried out to analyze variables that explain WHODAS-12 variation. In total, 83 patients (63 males, average age 66.9, 95% CI: 64.2–69.7) were enrolled; average WHODAS-12 was 13.2 (95% CI: 9.7–16.6). Cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, fatigue, and hyposmia/hypogeusia explained 28.8% of WHODAS-12 variation. These findings underline the importance and need for longitudinal follow-up assessments after recovery from COVID-19 and suggest the need for early rehabilitation of residual symptoms to enhance patients’ functioning.

Brain tumors (BT) are between the eight most common cancers among persons aged 40 years, with an average survival time of 10 years for patients affected by non-malignant brain tumor. Some patients continue to work, reporting difficulties in work-related activities, or even job loss. The purpose of the present study was to review the existing information about the ability people with BT to return to work and to identify factors associated with job loss. We performed a systematic review on SCOPUS and EMBASE for peer-reviewed papers that reported studies assessing work ability in patients with BT that were published in the period from January 2010 to January 2020. Out of 800 identified records, 7 articles were selected for analysis, in which 1,507 participants with BT were enrolled overall. Three main themes emerged: the impact of neuropsychological functioning on work productivity, the change of employment status for long-term survivors and issues related to return to work processes. Based on the results of selected studies, it can be concluded that the impact of BT on workforce participation is determined by depressive symptoms and cognitive deficits, as well as by high short-term mortality but also on environmental barriers. Vocational Rehabilitation programs should be implemented to help patients wishing to return to or maintain their current work, as much as possible.

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This study aimed to evaluate the work ability and its associated factors in patients with glioma (II, III) and breast cancer after 6 (T0) and 12 (T1) months from surgery. A total of 99 patients were evaluated with self-reported questionnaires at T0 and T1. Correlation and Mann–Whitney tests were used to investigate the association between work ability and sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors. The Wilcoxon test was used to investigate the longitudinal change in work ability. Our sample showed a decrease in work ability level between T0 and T1. Work ability was associated with emotional distress, disability, resilience, and social support in glioma III patients at T0, and with fatigue, disability, and clinical treatments in patients with breast cancer at T0 and T1. Work ability levels decreased in patients with glioma and breast cancer and were associated with different psychosocial factors after surgery. Their investigation is suggested to facilitate the return to work.