Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Oct 16:7:90.
doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-7-90.

Impact of gastroesophageal reflux disease on work absenteeism, presenteeism and productivity in daily life: a European observational study

Javier P Gisbert  1 , Alun Cooper, Dimitrios Karagiannis, Jan Hatlebakk, Lars Agréus, Helmut Jablonowski, Javier Nuevo
Affiliations

Impact of gastroesophageal reflux disease on work absenteeism, presenteeism and productivity in daily life: a European observational study

Javier P Gisbert et al. Health Qual Life Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: The RANGE (Retrospective ANalysis of GastroEsophageal reflux disease [GERD]) study assessed differences among patients consulting a primary care physician due to GERD-related reasons in terms of: symptoms, diagnosis and management, response to treatment, and effects on productivity, costs and health-related quality of life. This subanalysis of RANGE determined the impact of GERD on productivity in work and daily life.

Methods: RANGE was conducted at 134 primary care sites across six European countries (Germany, Greece, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK). All subjects (aged >or=18 years) who consulted with their primary care physician over a 4-month identification period were screened retrospectively, and those consulting at least once for GERD-related reasons were identified (index visit). From this population, a random sample was selected to enter the study and attended a follow-up appointment, during which the impact of GERD on productivity while working (absenteeism and presenteeism) and in daily life was evaluated using the self-reported Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire for patients with GERD (WPAI-GERD).

Results: Overall, 373,610 subjects consulted with their primary care physician over the 4-month identification period, 12,815 for GERD-related reasons (3.4%); 2678 randomly selected patients attended the follow-up appointment. Average absenteeism due to GERD was highest in Germany (3.2 hours/week) and lowest in the UK (0.4 hours/week), with an average of up to 6.7 additional hours/week lost due to presenteeism in Norway. The average monetary impact of GERD-related work absenteeism and presenteeism were substantial in all countries (from euro55/week per employed patient in the UK to euro273/patient in Sweden). Reductions in productivity in daily life of up to 26% were observed across the European countries.

Conclusion: GERD places a significant burden on primary care patients, in terms of work absenteeism and presenteeism and in daily life. The resulting costs to the local economy may be substantial. Improved management of GERD could be expected to lessen the impact of GERD on productivity and reduce costs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean (standard deviation) percent productivity lost due to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), as measured using the Work Productivity and Impairment questionnaire for patients with GERD (WPAI-GERD), by country of residence
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean (standard deviation) monetary losses related to work absenteeism and reduced productivity while working (presenteeism) due to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (transformed from Work Productivity and Impairment questionnaire for patients with GERD [WPAI-GERD]), by country of residence
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Vakil N, van Zanten SV, Kahrilas P, Dent J, Jones R. The Montreal definition and classification of gastroesophageal reflux disease: a global evidence-based consensus. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006;101:1900–1920. doi: 10.1111/j.1572-0241.2006.00630.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Malfertheiner P, Hallerback B. Clinical manifestations and complications of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) Int J Clin Pract. 2005;59:346–355. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2005.00370.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dent J, El-Serag HB, Wallander MA, Johansson S. Epidemiology of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: a systematic review. Gut. 2005;54:710–717. doi: 10.1136/gut.2004.051821. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ronkainen J, Aro P, Storskrubb T, Lind T, Bolling-Sternevald E, Junghard O, Talley NJ, Agréus L. Gastro-oesophageal reflux symptoms and health-related quality of life in the adult general population - the Kalixanda study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2006;23:1725–1733. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2006.02952.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wiklund I. Review of the quality of life and burden of illness in gastroesophageal reflux disease. Dig Dis. 2004;22:108–114. doi: 10.1159/000080308. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types