Work disability in psoriatic arthritis: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Occupational Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Work disability (WD) is a key functional outcome in arthritis.
• Existing data on WD in rheumatic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is extensive.
• Factors influencing WD in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have not been systematically reviewed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the current literature on work disability (WD) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
• To critically evaluate the measurement of WD in PsA.
• To identify factors associated with WD in PsA patients.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was performed across Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases.
• Manual searches of cited articles supplemented the database search.
• Included were meta-analyses, RCTs, observational studies, and abstracts; full publications underwent quality assessment.

Main Results:

• Nineteen publications were identified, with nine in abstract form.
• Intermediate quality evidence indicates high unemployment (20-50%) and WD (16-39%) in PsA.
• Associated factors include longer disease duration, poorer physical function, high joint counts, lower education, female gender, erosive disease, and manual labor.

Conclusions:

• Work disability is prevalent in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
• Current data is limited by small sample sizes and data heterogeneity.
• Future research should prioritize validating WD data collection tools specifically for PsA.