Exploring work productivity loss in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Sahar Nasr; Wafa Dahmani; Hanene Jaziri; Aya Hammami; Aida Ben Slama; Wafa Ben Ameur; Nour Elleuch; Mahdi Ksiaa; Ali Jmaa

doi:10.2144/fsoa-2022-0034

Exploring work productivity loss in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Future Sci OA. 2023 Jun 7;9(8):FSO872. doi: 10.2144/fsoa-2022-0034. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Sahar Nasr¹, Wafa Dahmani¹, Hanene Jaziri¹, Aya Hammami¹, Aida Ben Slama¹, Wafa Ben Ameur¹, Nour Elleuch¹, Mahdi Ksiaa¹, Ali Jmaa¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Sahloul University Hospital, University of Sousse, Tunisia.

Abstract

Aim: We aimed in this study to evaluate the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on patients' professional life and to determine predictors of severe work productivity loss (WPL).

Materials & methods: A cross sectional study including patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IBD. Work productivity was evaluated with the work productivity and activity impairment score.

Results: Severe absenteeism and WPL were found in respectively 7 (5.1%) and 54 (39.1%) patients. In multivariate analysis, the following features were found to be independently associated with severe WPL: penetrating Crohn's disease (p: 0.001, OR: 6), anemia (p: 0.031, OR: 3.23), diarrhea (p < 0.001, OR: 11.23) and a secondary level of education (p: 0.003, OR: 1.95).

Conclusion: Our results show that IBD have a substantial effect on patients' professional life.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease; Tunisia; inflammatory bowel disease; low to middle income country; occupational medicine; quality of life; ulcerative colitis; work productivity and activity impairment.

Plain language summary

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic conditions that cause inflammation in the digestive system. We wanted to know how IBD affects people’s ability to work and what factors contribute to work difficulties. We asked adults with IBD about their education, work conditions and medical history. We found that a significant number of patients experience severe work productivity loss and absenteeism. Factors such as certain types of IBD, anemia, diarrhea and lower education level were linked to more severe work problems. These findings emphasize the impact of IBD on work life and highlight the importance of addressing these challenges in patient care.