Pam10: The Impact of Early Rheumatoid Arthritis on Productivity

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) leads to physical and psychosocial functional disabilities affecting productivity of patients in their daily activities. OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the impact of early RA on productivity. METHODS: Baseline data was analyzed from the Study of New Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis (S.O.N.O.R.A.SM), a five‐year prospective, longitudinal, inception‐cohort study to document long‐term functional, clinical, and humanistic outcomes and patterns of treatment in patients with new onset RA. Telephone interviews were performed by trained interviewers to collect data on employment status, annual household income (AHI) and productivity at work and normal activities, outside of paid job (NAOPJ), including absenteeism over the past 4 months, reason for absenteeism, and effectiveness at work and NAOPJ when working with arthritis symptoms (AS). RESULTS: One hundred thirty one patients completed the baseline survey. Mean age was 56 ± 15 years; 78% were female; 82% were Caucasian. Employment status reported was full‐time (52%), part‐time (2%), retired (26%), and other (20%). AHI were <$50,000 (63%), $50,000–74,999 (17%),> $75,000 (18%), and 2% refused to provide AHI. Ninety‐one percent of patients were employed at a paid job. The mean absenteeism at work and NAOPJ were 4.3 days (SE = 1.1) and 25.9 days (SE = 3.3), respectively. Of the participants reporting absenteeism, 40% and 69% reported that the majority of absenteeism was due to AS for work and NAOPJ, respectively. Compared to their normal performance, patients were 78% and 64% as effective when working with AS at work and NAOPJ, respectively. CONCLUSION: Despite new onset of RA in this population, negative impact on productivity was observed. A greater decline in productivity was reported for NAOPJ. This may imply that NAOPJ is compromised before work activities in early RA patients. Five‐year follow‐up of this population will provide further insight on productivity changes and the economic burden associated with progressive disease.