Work productivity 'can suffer significantly among early arthritis patients'

Patients in the early stages of arthritis are likely to experience a significant impact on their work productivity, according to a new French study.

Carried out by the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris and Lorraine's Nancy University Hospital, the study aimed to assess work productivity loss during the first three years of disease in a cohort of 664 patients with early arthritis diagnosed between 2002 and 2005.

Productivity loss was measured according to metrics such as rates of sick leave, permanent disability and early retirement, with the proportion of affected patients and the mean number of days off work assessed for each component.

Among the 664 patients included, 81.6 per cent were in the workforce at baseline. During the first three years of disease, 45 per cent reported at least one sick leave day and 11 per cent experienced a permanent disability, although only one per cent of the patients had to take early retirement.

Detailed results in the Arthritis Care & Research Journal showed that the mean number of days on sick leave due to early arthritis decreased regularly over time from 44 to 13, whereas the average number of days on permanent disability tripled from ten to 33.

Meanwhile, it was also shown that people with who had taken sick leave longer than 30 days before inclusion in the study and who had experienced decreases in mental and physical health were more likely to suffer significant productivity losses.

The researchers concluded: "Work productivity loss is substantial in early arthritis patients and is due to permanent disability before the third year of disease. Work absence and poor mental and physical health status at baseline are major determinants of work productivity costs."

A spokeswoman for Arthritis Research UK commented: "Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the two main causes of incapacity for work in the UK, accounting for a loss of ten million working days per year, at a cost of £7 billion. People with rheumatoid arthritis are at particular risk of giving up work within the first few years of being diagnosed. This is an area ripe for further research."