Characteristics of patients with chronic rheumatic diseases (n = 65) participating in the multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation programme
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Values are n (%) unless stated. | |
| *Other: chronic rheumatic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic gout, mixed connective tissue disease. | |
| Age (years) (median (range)) | 45 (21 to 57) |
| Disease duration (months) (median (range)) | 16 (0 to 158) |
| Female patients | 37 (57%) |
| Diagnosis | |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 30 (46%) |
| Ankylosing spondylitis or other spondylarthropathies | 15 (23%) |
| “Other”* | 20 (31%) |
| Educational level | |
| Low | 19 (29%) |
| Medium | 31 (48%) |
| High | 15 (23%) |
| Occupational category | |
| Mental demands | 18 (28%) |
| Mixed mental/physical demands | 13 (20%) |
| Light physical demands | 18 (28%) |
| Heavy physical demands | 16 (24%) |
| Vocational status | |
| Sick leave | 34 (52%) |
| Duration of sick leave (weeks) (median (range)) | 16 (1 to 52) |
| Maintaining employment | 31 (48%) |
| Work satisfaction (0–10) | |
| VAS work satisfaction (n = 51) (mean (SD)) | 5.4 (2.5) |