RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Productivity loss in ever-smoking COPD subjects from a general population
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP p4128
VO 38
IS Suppl 55
A1 Rune Nielsen
A1 Ane Johannessen
A1 Per Sigvald Bakke
A1 Ernst Reidar Omenaas
A1 Amund Gulsvik
YR 2011
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p4128.abstract
AB Background: We aimed to estimate productivity losses of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in hospital- and population-based subjects with spirometric post-bronchodilator COPD, relative to a control group.Methods: 53 COPD-cases and 107 randomly recruited individuals without COPD were included from a general population. 102 COPD patients were recruited from a hospital register. All participants were ever-smokers, 40-66 yrs of age. In 4 standardized telephone interviews we surveyed the utilization of sick leave and disability pension during one calendar year. Productivity loss was defined as number of days in sick leave or disability pension. The outcomes in a two-part regression approach were any productivity loss (multiple logistic regression) and number of days of lost productivity (multiple linear regression). The latter model excluded subjects without any productivity loss.Results: The logistic regression model showed little effect of COPD when we compared the population-based COPD cases to the controls. In the linear regression model the increased productivity loss in population-based subjects with stage II, stage III and stage IV COPD were (95% CI) 73 (22 - 124), 178 (49 - 308) and 249 (33 - 465) days, compared to the controls. In addition, being a woman, a 1-yr increase in age and low education was associated with an increase of 59 (15 - 103), 6 (2 - 10) and 131 (65 - 197) days of productivity loss. Similar results were found for hospital recruited COPD patients.Conclusion: The access to sick leave and disability pension was similar in subjects with and without COPD. The volume of these services was considerably higher in subjects with COPD and was also associated with disease severity.