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Return to the workforce following coronary artery bypass grafting: A Danish nationwide cohort study
Jawad H Butt1, Rasmus Rørth1, Kristian Kragholm2
1Department of Cardiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Insights
Most working-age patients return to work after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Factors like younger age, male sex, and higher socioeconomic status improve return-to-work rates following CABG surgery.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Public Health
- Occupational Medicine
Background:
- Returning to the workforce after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has significant socioeconomic implications.
- Limited data exists on workforce reintegration post-CABG.
- This study investigates return to work and associated factors in working-age CABG patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the rate of return to the workforce one year after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in working-age individuals.
- To identify factors associated with workforce participation post-CABG.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Danish nationwide administrative registries to identify 6031 working-age patients (18-60 years) who underwent isolated CABG between 1998 and 2011.
- Employed multivariable logistic regression to analyze factors influencing return to the workforce.
- Assessed patient outcomes one year after discharge, including workforce status, sick leave, disability pension, and mortality.
Main Results:
- 80.0% of patients returned to the workforce one year post-CABG.
- Younger age, male sex, higher education, and higher income were associated with increased likelihood of returning to work.
- Emergency surgery, cardiovascular comorbidities, chronic kidney or liver disease, and multiple hospital admissions were linked to a lower probability of workforce return.
Conclusions:
- A high proportion (80%) of working-age patients successfully returned to the workforce one year after CABG.
- Key factors promoting return to work include younger age, male gender, higher socioeconomic status, and absence of significant comorbidities.
- Mortality rates were low, underscoring the feasibility of workforce reintegration for many patients.
Background:
Returning to the workforce after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) holds important socioeconomic consequences not only for patients, but the society as well. Yet data on this issue are limited. We examined return to the workforce and associated factors in patients of working age undergoing CABG.
Methods And Results:
Using Danish nationwide administrative registries, we identified 6031 patients of working age (18-60years) undergoing isolated CABG (1998-2011) who were part of the workforce 30days prior to admission and alive at discharge. One year after discharge for CABG, 4827 (80.0%) patients had returned to the workforce, 614 (10.2%) were on paid sick leave, 267 (4.4%) received disability pension, 250 (4.1%) were on early retirement, 57 (0.9%) had died, and 16 (0.3%) had emigrated. Factors associated with return to the workforce were identified using multivariable logistic regression. Younger age (18-45 versus 56-60years; odds ratio, 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.48-2.42), male sex (1.51, 1.24-1.84), and higher level of education (higher educational level versus basic school; 1.53, 1.05-2.23) and income (highest quartile versus lowest; 3.01, 2.42-3.75) were associated with return to the workforce. Urgency of surgery (emergency versus elective; 0.65, 0.49-0.88), cardiovascular comorbidity, a history of chronic kidney disease (0.49, 0.29-0.84) and liver disease (0.47, 0.28-0.80), as well as additional hospital admissions within the first year post-discharge (>2 versus none; 0.25, 0.19-0.32) were associated with a lower likelihood of returning to the workforce.
Conclusion:
One year after discharge for CABG, four out of five patients were part of the workforce and mortality was low. Younger age, male sex, higher socioeconomic status, and absence of major comorbidities were associated with return to the workforce.
