Different Issues for Employed and Unemployed Patients With axSpA

A recent study found significant differences between employed and unemployed patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). While employed patients often faced work issues related to their condition, unemployed patients presented with worse disease outcomes associated with greater psychological distress.

Researchers evaluated data from an online survey of 415 patients from the Atlas of Axial Spondyloarthritis in Spain 2017. The patients were divided into employed and unemployed groups, based on International Labour Organization definitions. Outcomes assessed were sociodemographic characteristics, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and psychological distress. PROs were determined by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (0-10), Spinal Stiffness Index (3-12), and the Functional Limitation Index (0-54).

Of the patients surveyed, 325 (78.3%) were employed and 90 (21.7%) were unemployed. In the employed cohort, 170 (54.3%) reported a work-related issue in the year before the survey. The most frequent issues reported were difficulty fulfilling working hours (44.1%), missing work for doctor appointments (42.9%), and taking sick leave (37.1%). Of those patients who were unemployed, 54 (62.8%) reported that their joblessness was due to axSpA.

The authors wrote, “Being unemployed was associated with lower educational level (OR = 2.92), disease activity (OR = 1.37), spinal stiffness (OR = 1.21), functional limitation (OR = 1.05), worse mental health (OR = 1.15), anxiety (OR = 2.02), and depression (OR = 2.69) in the univariable models; and with lower educational level (OR = 2.76) and worse mental health (OR = 1.15) in the multivariable analysis.”

—Allison Casey

Reference:
Garrido-Cumbrera M, Collantes-Estevez E, Navarro- Compán V, et al. Understanding the disease burden of unemployed patients with axial spondyloarthritis: Results from the Spanish Atlas 2017. J Rheumatol. December 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.210655