Working status among Dutch patients with RA: work disability and working conditions

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Working status among Dutch patients with rheumatoid arthritis: work

disability and working conditions

http://rheumatology.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/44/2/202

Rheumatology Vol. 44 No. 2 © British Society for Rheumatology 2004; all

rights reserved

Objectives. To assess work disability and variables associated with work

disability among Dutch patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods. A questionnaire on working status was filled out by 296

patients of working age. Employment and work disability rates adjusted

for age and sex from the Dutch population were determined using indirect

standardization. proportional hazard analysis was used to assess

baseline predictors of work disability in a subgroup of patients (n = 195).

Results. After a mean disease duration of 4.3 yr, patients had a 0.78

chance of being employed and a 2.14 risk of being work disabled when

compared with the Dutch population. Functional disability and job type

at the start of the disease were predictors of future work disability.

In total, 48 (37%) currently employed patients had changed their working

conditions, of which reduced working hours (46%), reduced pacing of work

(42%) and help from colleagues (49%) were the most important

alterations. Of the 60 work disabled patients without a paid job, only

11 patients (18%) would be willing to work again.

Conclusion. This study shows that the adjusted employment rates were

lower and that work disability rates were higher in patients with RA

when compared with the general Dutch population. In addition, a

substantial number of employed patients had to change their working

conditions due to RA. Only a minority of work disabled RA patients was

willing to return to the paid labour force.

S. M. M. Verstappen, A. Boonen1, J. W. J. Bijlsma, E. Buskens2, H.

Verkleij3, Y. Schenk4, G. A. van Albada-Kuipers5, D. M. Hofman6 and J.

W. G. son on behalf of the Utrecht Rheumatoid Arthritis Cohort

Study Group (SRU)

University Medical Center Utrecht 1 University Hospital Maastricht, 2

Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht, 3

National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, 4

Diakonessenhuis Utrecht, 5 Meander Medical Center, Amersfoort and 6

Hilversum Hospital, Hilversum, The Netherlands.

Correspondence to: S. M. M. Verstappen, University Medical Center

Utrecht, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, F02.127,

P.O. Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands. E-mail:

S.Verstappen@...