Differences by sex in correlates of work status in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Abstract

Objective. To examine differences by sex in correlates of work status in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients seen in rheumatology clinical settings.Methods. Associations of demographic factors, occupation, duration of RA, and scores for disease and psychological scales with work status according to sex were examined in a cross-sectional study of 960 RA patients, aged 18 -64 years, of whom 451 were working and 254 were work-disabled. Comparisons of characteristics were conducted by logistic regression between working and work-disabled, and between working and not working subjects.Results. For both men and women, the odds of work disability increased with age, duration of RA, nonwhite race, and scores indicating high levels of functional disability, pain, and helplessness. Workdisabled women were more likely than working women to have less than a high school education or a nonprofessional occupation, compared with little association of these variables with work disability in men. Unmarried men were more likely to be workdisabled than working, while marital status was not associated with work disability in women. Differences by sex in the associations of pain and helplessness scores with work disability were also observed. Similar results were observed in associations of these characteristics when the outcome was coded as working versus not working. Conclusions.These findings indicate some differences between men and women with RA in correlates of work disability that may help to more effectively target interventions. A patient's sex should be an important consideration in studies of work disability due to arthritis.

Changes in sociodemographic characteristics at baseline in two Swedish cohorts of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed 1996–98 and 2006–09

“…In both cohorts, fewer years of education was associated with higher levels of work disability and this is in line with previous reports (17)(18)(19).…”

Work disability in systemic lupus erythematosus

“…We expect similar findings in lupus patients. A lower education level, for example, is an almost universal feature of work disability in patients with RA (12)(13)(14) and lupus (5,6,9,10). Our objective in this descriptive study is to determine the prevalence, accrual over time, and risk factors of work disability in patients with SLE.…”

Aproximación al coste del tratamiento farmacológico en la artritis reumatoide en España

“…Según diferentes estudios, a los 10 años de enfermedad, un 50% de pacientes tienen problemas para seguir trabajando en Estados Unidos (46), y en otro estudio, un 30% de los pacientes estaban jubilados de su trabajo a los 5 años, en especial trabajadores manuales (47) 18 predictivos de jubilación anticipada por la enfermedad, la edad, el nivel educativo, la duración de la enfermedad y el descenso de la capacidad funcional medida por aplicación de test específicos (48)(49)(50). Aunque los fármacos anti-TNF son de dispensación hospitalaria y no se aplica ninguna aportación por parte del paciente, hay que decir que 10 de los 23 pacientes que usaban dichos fármacos continuaban cotizando al sistema de Seguridad Social.…”