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. 2023 Jul 1;49(5):341-349.
doi: 10.5271/sjweh.4095. Epub 2023 Apr 24.

Burden of idiopathic inflammatory rheumatic diseases in occupational healthcare: increased absenteeism and healthcare resource utilization

Liisa Ukkola-Vuoti  1 , Antti Karlsson, Samuli Tuominen, Mariann I Lassenius, Jaakko Aaltonen, Martta Ranta, Mikko Kosunen, Mari Renlund, Anne Lehtonen, Kari Puolakka
Affiliations

Burden of idiopathic inflammatory rheumatic diseases in occupational healthcare: increased absenteeism and healthcare resource utilization

Liisa Ukkola-Vuoti et al. Scand J Work Environ Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: Patients with idiopathic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IIRD) often have decreased working capacity resulting in indirect costs. However, data on patients' short-term sick leave has been limited. This retrospective cohort study evaluated the number and length of sick leave, including short-term leave, and occupational healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) of the working-aged patients with IIRD compared to controls.

Methods: The data on sick leave and occupational HCRU were gathered from the electronic medical records of the largest occupational healthcare provider in Finland from January 2012 to December 2019. Employed patients with an IIRD (including rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, psoriatic and enteropathic arthritis, juvenile arthritis, and reactive arthritis) with at least a 12-months follow-up were identified and compared to age-, sex-, and follow-up matched controls without IIRD.

Results: Altogether 5405 patients with IIRD were identified and compared with an equal number of controls. The patients incurred approximately 2.5 times more sick leave than controls: 21.7 versus 8.5 days per patient year, respectively. Short-term sick leave was common: 83% of sickness absence periods of the patients lasted 1-9 days and represented 30% of the total absenteeism. Loss of productivity due to lost workdays was on average €4572 (95% confidence interval €4352-4804) per patient year. Occupational HCRU was approximately 1.8 times higher among IIRD patients than controls.

Conclusions: Workers with an IIRD incur considerably more sick leave and use more occupational healthcare services than controls. Short sick leave not registered in national insurance registers constitute a significant portion of days off work among patients with IIRD.

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Conflict of interest statement

AK is employed by Terveystalo, JA, MRa, MRe, and AL are employees of AbbVie and may or may not own AbbVie shares. LUV, MIL, and ST are employed by Medaffcon Oy. MK is a former employee of AbbVie and current employee of Pfizer. KP has no conflicts of interest to declare.

AbbVie sponsored the study; contributed to the design; participated in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data in writing, reviewing, approving the final version, and decision to submit the paper for publication. No honoraria were made for the authorship.

AK is employed by Terveystalo, JA, MRa, MRe, and AL are employees of AbbVie and may or may not own AbbVie shares. LUV, MIL, and ST are employed by Medaffcon Oy. MK is a former employee of AbbVie and current employee of Pfizer. KP has no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of sick leave days (with 95% confidence intervals) in employees with IIRD and their controls. M02: reactive arthropathies; M05/M06: rheumatoid arthritis; M07: psoriatic and enteropathic arthropathies; M08: juvenile arthritis; M45/M46: spondyloarthritis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of sick leave periods by sick-leave duration (A) and cumulative number of sick leave days by sick-leave duration (B).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Costs per patient-year related to absenteeism (A) and occupational healthcare utilization (B) by age at the index date. Mean with 95% confidence intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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