Skip Navigation


Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on September 28, 2004
Rheumatology 2005 44(2):202-206; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keh400
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
44/2/202    most recent
keh400v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (6)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Verstappen, S. M. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Verstappen, S. M. M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Health Economics
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

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

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

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. Jacobson 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{at}azu.nl

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. Cox 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 (95% CI 0.67–0.88) chance of being employed and a 2.14 (95% CI 1.75–2.54) 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.

KEY WORDS: Rheumatoid arthritis, Employment, Disability


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Rheumatology (Oxford)Home page
S. M. M. Verstappen, J. W. G. Jacobs, A. A. Kruize, J. C. Ehrlich, G. A. van Albada-Kuipers, H. Verkleij, E. Buskens, and J. W. J. Bijlsma
Trends in economic consequences of rheumatoid arthritis over two subsequent years
Rheumatology, June 1, 2007; 46(6): 968 - 974.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.