P6587Return to work and maintenance of work after first time hospitalization for atrial fibrillation or flutter

Perceived return-to-work pressure following cardiovascular disease is associated with age, sex, and diagnosis: a nationwide combined survey- and register-based cohort study

“…First, our findings imply that returning to work may be more challenging for people diagnosed with HVD or HF than for those diagnosed with AF or IHD. This observation may be due to differing adverse effects on physical and mental health following CVD that are associated with each particular condition [31], and this finding is consistent with results from previous studies that reported higher return-to-work rates among people diagnosed with, for example, AF than HF [20,22]. However, because the observed differences are modest, our findings suggest that vocational rehabilitation should not target particular patient groups, but rather focus on the individual's ability to return to work and perform specific occupational tasks.…”

“…In this nationwide combined survey-and register-based cohort study including people diagnosed with CVD during 2018, 842 respondents (53.8%) had returned to work when they answered the survey performed between October 2020 and February 2021. This return-to-work rate is lower than that reported by other studies [18][19][20][21][22], probably because our population had an older mean age than most previous studies. We investigated the likelihood of individuals feeling under pressure to return to work.…”

“…In addition, our results indicate that many people with CVD return to work before they feel ready. Therefore, vocational rehabilitation should, as suggested by other authors [19,22], encompass employment maintenance to prevent reoccurrence of sick leave. Here, tele-rehabilitation may be a valuable approach, because this allows people to restart work while undergoing rehabilitation [9].…”

“…Return to work is a complex process shaped by a range of factors including personal characteristics, the severity of the disease, work-related factors (e.g., job position and working conditions), national compensation policies, and the structure of the healthcare system (e.g., access to rehabilitation programmes and vocational counselling) [17,18]. Previous studies have demonstrated that CVD affects the ability to work and that return-to-work rates are moderate with variation across countries and patient groups [8,9,[18][19][20][21][22]. Risk factors associated with failure to return to work after CVD include female sex [19][20][21]23], older age [21,23], severity of the disease [20,24], comorbidities [19][20][21]23], lower educational level [19][20][21], and low income [19,21].…”

“…Additionally, type of employment and occupational requirements, such as white or blue-collar work [8,9], night shifts, and the ability to commute shape return-to-work [9]. Researchers have also documented that many people with CVD struggle with sustaining employment after initial return to work [19,20,22], have difficulties with returning to work at the pre-CVD level [13], and experience a number of barriers for returning to work, such as physical and mental incapacity, co-morbidities, unfavorable terms of employment, and motivational problems [13].…”