Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were more likely to suffer from poor work productivity than those with psoriasis (PsO), Nancy Shadick, MD, said during her presentation at the ACR Convergence on November 12. However, this impairment was driven by pain, itch, and fatigue more than the severity of the disease.

Dr Shadick is an associate professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School and the director of the Lyme Disease Prevention Program at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

For the prospective, longitudinal study, the investigators included 180 adults who completed the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) survey. Of these, 113 had PsA and 67 had PsO; all were currently employed. The mean age was 49.7 years, 45.3% were women, 85.8% were White, and the mean disease duration for PsA was 22 years and for PsO was 15 years.

The survey results were categorized into 3 main domains: missed work, impaired work productivity, and impaired daily activity due to their illness, Dr Shadick explained. The disease severity was measured by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), and self-reported symptoms included overall pain, degree of skin itch, and fatigue.

In terms of missed work, Dr Shadick said that there were no statistically significant differences in missed work between the 2 groups (15.93% in PsA vs. 19.40% in PsO, p=0.55). However, she stated, 44.25% of PsA patients reported more impaired work productivity compared to 25.37% of patients with PsO. Similarly, 53.10% of PsA patients reported impaired daily activities outside of work hours compared to 20.9% of PsO patients.

Regardless of the disease, patients who missed work reported more fatigue (OR 2.17, p< 0.001), more pain (OR:6.94, p< 0.001), and itch (OR:1.3, p=0.01), Dr Shadick noted.

“Eliciting these symptoms may help rheumatologists better tailor interventions to improve an individual's capacity to work,” Dr Shadick added.

Reference:
Shadick N. 0488: Factors associated with work productivity among individuals with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and psoriasis (PsO): The role of patient reported outcomes and disease severity. Presented at: American College of Rheumatology Convergence. November 12, 2023. San Diego.