RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Monetary value of lost productivity over a five year follow up in early rheumatoid arthritis estimated on the basis of official register data on patients’ sickness absence and gross income: experience from the FIN-RACo trial
JF Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
JO Ann Rheum Dis
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and European League Against Rheumatism
SP 899
OP 904
DO 10.1136/ard.2005.045807
VO 65
IS 7
A1 K Puolakka
A1 H Kautiainen
A1 M Pekurinen
A1 T Möttönen
A1 P Hannonen
A1 M Korpela
A1 M Hakala
A1 M Arkela-Kautiainen
A1 R Luukkainen
A1 M Leirisalo-Repo
A1 for the FIN-RACo Trial Group
YR 2006
UL http://ard.bmj.com/content/65/7/899.abstract
AB Objective: To explore the monetary value of rheumatoid arthritis related loss of productivity in patients with early active disease.Methods: In a prospective cohort substudy of the FIN-RACo Trial, 162 patients with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis, aged 18 to 65 years and available to the workforce, were followed up for five years. Loss of work productivity in euros 2002 was estimated by data on absence for sickness and on income (human capital approach) from official databases. Treatment responses were evaluated by area under the curve (AUC) of the ACR-N measure and by increase in number of erosions in radiographs of hands and feet. The health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) at six months was linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).Results: In all, 120 (75%) patients, women more often (82%) than men (61%) (p = 0.002), lost work days. The mean lost productivity per patient-year was €7217 (95% confidence interval (CI), 5561 to 9148): for women, €6477 (4858 to 8536) and for men, €8443 (5389 to 12 898). There was an inverse correlation with improvement: €1101 (323 to 2156) and €14 952 (10 662 to 19 852) for the highest and lowest quartiles of AUC of ARC-N, respectively. Lost productivity was associated with increase in the number of erosions and with disability in “changing and maintaining body position” subcategory of the ICF.Conclusions: Despite remission targeted treatment with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, early rheumatoid arthritis results in substantial loss of productivity. A good improvement in the disease reduces the loss markedly.