Distribution and odds ratios of withdrawal from the labour force by patients with rheumatoid arthritis for various work factors
| Work factors | Categories | % of RA patients withdrawn from the labour force after diagnosis (n=343) | % of RA patients in paid employment at time of study (n=377) | OR2-150(95% CI) | |
| Field of work | Administrative | 16.9 | 23.3 | 1.0 | |
| Agricultural | 1.9 | 3.3 | 0.9 (0.3 to 3.0) | ||
| Manual/industrial | 22.1 | 14.1 | 3.2 (1.6 to 6.4) | ||
| Transport | 3.8 | 3.6 | 2.1 (0.7 to 6.2) | ||
| Commercial | 13.4 | 11.8 | 1.6 (0.8 to 3.0) | ||
| Service/sales | 24.8 | 16.5 | 1.8 (1.0 to 3.2) | ||
| Professional | 17.1 | 27.5 | 1.2 (0.6 to 2.4) | ||
| Size of company (no. of employees) | <100 | 69.1 | 59.3 | 1.3 (0.9 to 2.0) | |
| ⩾100 | 30.9 | 40.7 | 1.0 | ||
| Temporary job position | No | 93.3 | 92.2 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 6.7 | 7.8 | 1.5 (0.8 to 3.0) | ||
| Executive position | No | 74.6 | 68.3 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 25.4 | 31.7 | 1.0 (0.6 to 1.5) | ||
| Number of working hours | <32.0/week | 38.8 | 47.3 | 0.3 (0.2 to 0.5) | |
| ⩾32.0/week | 61.2 | 52.7 | 1.0 | ||
| Additional job training after diagnosis | No | 54.9 | 32.3 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 45.1 | 67.7 | 0.5 (0.4 to 0.8) | ||
| Changed field of activity after diagnosis | No | 80.2 | 73.7 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 19.8 | 26.3 | 0.7 (0.5 to 1.1) | ||
| RA influenced choice on last/present job position | No | 79.3 | 68.7 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 20.7 | 31.3 | 0.5 (0.4 to 0.8) | ||
| Accessibility of work place | Good | 76.5 | 93.4 | 1.0 | |
| Bad | 23.5 | 6.6 | 4.8 (2.6 to 9.1) | ||
| Transportation mobility | Not reduced | 83.5 | 95.7 | 1.0 | |
| Reduced | 16.5 | 4.3 | 5.0 (2.5 to 10.0) | ||
| Adjusted working hours | No | 86.2 | 72.5 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 13.8 | 27.5 | 0.3 (0.2 to 0.5) | ||
| Adjusted job demands | No | 84.9 | 69.6 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 15.1 | 17.2 | 0.3 (0.2 to 0.5) | ||
| Technical adjustments | No | 93.6 | 82.8 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 6.4 | 17.2 | 0.3 (0.2 to 0.6) | ||
| Dependent on colleagues | No | 53.5 | 62.3 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 46.5 | 37.7 | 1.1 (0.8 to 1.6) | ||
| Attitude of colleagues towards patient | Normal/positive | 89.7 | 94.8 | 1.0 | |
| Negative | 10.3 | 5.2 | 1.8 (1.0 to 3.6) | ||
| Support of colleagues | Sufficient | 73.7 | 94.8 | 1.0 | |
| Insufficient | 26.3 | 5.2 | 4.9 (2.7 to 8.9) | ||
| Colleagues well informed about RA | No | 22.2 | 9.7 | 1.0 | |
| Yes | 77.8 | 90.3 | 0.3 (0.2 to 0.5) | ||
| Coaching of management | Sufficient | 64.4 | 91.8 | 1.0 | |
| Insufficient | 35.6 | 8.2 | 5.8 (3.3 to 9.9) | ||
| Career opportunities within companyE | Equal to colleagues | 60.5 | 70.3 | 1.0 | |
| Less than colleagues | 39.5 | 29.7 | 1.6 (1.1 to 2.4) | ||
↵2-150 All odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were adjusted for age, sex, educational level, disease activity, and disease duration. Bold type indicates statistically significant differences between the groups.