Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Patients felt they were too disabled to work full time at a mean of 3.4 years after diagnosis. Those who applied for SSDI did so at a mean of 5 years after diagnosis. Patients who obtained SSDI awards had extensive documentation of medical records or the help of a disability lawyer.

Which features of Parkinson's disease predict earlier exit from the workforce?

“…Additionally, 80% of our population had a college education and there is some evidence that individuals with higher levels of education work longer [10]. However, neither our study nor others [4,5] has found a clear impact of education level on leaving the workforce in PD. Data from the Health and Retirement Survey show that lower-income workers retire at earlier ages [11], consistent with our findings.…”

“…Other PD studies have shown conflicting results regarding the role of motor impairment in leaving the workforce. One study showed rigidity, tremor, and bradykinesia contributing to inability to work [5] and in another, PD patients reported that tremor and slowness were two of the three greatest challenges at work [4]. In contrast, a third study found that cardinal motor symptoms did not predict LWF [6].…”

“…Reports of time from PD diagnosis to leaving the workforce (LWF) vary, with medians of 1.7 [3] to 5 years [4] and averages of 3.4 [5] to 4.9 years [6]. The range of time from diagnosis to LWF is large (0e25 years) [4,6].…”

Physical therapy and occupational therapy in Parkinson's disease

“…PwP that are employed often experience difficulties in their work and stop working early [39]. Fatigue is one of the main problems experienced in the work environment [40][41][42] and is also associated with reduced participation in leisure activities [43].…”

Neuropsychological Functions and SPECT Neuroimaging in Parkinson’s Disease

“…Mental fatigue refers to the effects experienced during and after prolonged periods of demanding cognitive activities that require sustained mental efficiency. Fatigue exerts its main effects on quality of life, depression, and disability in PD and is the major determinant of work-related disability (Martinez-Martin et al, 2006;Zesiewicz et al, 2007). For apathy and fatigue, co-existence of depression and cognitive deficits and their overlap with motor signs of PD, contribute to diagnostic challenges.…”