Return to work after coronary artery bypass surgery in a population of long-term survivors

Return to paid employment may be facilitated by coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We assessed work status in a population-based study of long-term outcomes of CABG.

To determine the association between returning to work after CABG and clinical and socio-demographic factors.

A postal survey of 2,500 randomly selected patients 6-20 years post-CABG. The outcomes assessed were work status in the year before and after CABG and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measured with SF-36.

Response was 82% (n = 2,061). Employment fell from 56% in the year prior to CABG to 42% in the year after. Workers in 'blue-collar' occupations were more likely to reduce their work status than those in 'white collar' occupations (46% versus 29%, p < 0.001). Independent predictors of reducing employment were increasing age (9% per year, 99% CI: 1.06-1.11, p < 0.001), 'blue-collar' versus 'white collar' occupation (OR: 2.1, 99% CI: 1.4-3.1) and female sex (OR: 2.1, 99% CI: 1.1-3.6). HRQOL among participants under 60 years of age at follow-up was better for those who returned to work after CABG surgery.

CABG surgery is followed by a net loss to paid employment of working age patients which increases with age, and is more likely for those in blue-collar occupations and women.