High work disability rate among RA patients in Lithuania

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Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Jun 15;51(3):433-9.

High work disability rate among rheumatoid arthritis patients in

Lithuania.

Dadoniene J, Stropuviene S, Venalis A, Boonen A.

Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate labor force characteristics among patients with

rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Lithuania. To assess if Lithuania's

transition from a state-planned to a free-market economy after 1990

changed the employment perspectives of patients with RA. METHODS: RA

patients, age 16-65 years (n = 238), were randomly selected from the RA

register in Vilnius. They completed questions about sociodemographics,

working status, and disease characteristics, they underwent a clinical

examination, and they completed the modified Health Assessment

Questionnaire and the Short Form 36. RESULTS: Age- and sex-adjusted

employment was 24.2% lower and work disability 51.7% higher in patients

compared with the general population in Lithuania. After 10 years of

disease, 48% of the patients had withdrawn from the labor force. In

those with a paid job, the average sick leave in the past year was 31.9

days compared with the national average of 10.8 days. Although disease

activity was not significantly different in employed compared with

work-disabled patients, physical function and perceived quality of life

(except general health) were worse among patients with work disability.

The change in economic organization in 1990 was noted to increase the

risk for work withdrawal by a factor of 2.75 (95% confidence interval

1.68-4.53).

CONCLUSION: In Lithuania, the impact of RA on work disability is

important. Although work disability in Lithuanian patients with RA seems

more pronounced compared with reports from Western societies, variables

associated with work disability are comparable. The transition to a

market-orientated economy in 1990 increased the risk of becoming work

disabled.

PMID: 15188330

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