Employment exit and entry among U.S. adults with and without arthritis during the Great Recession. A longitudinal...

Negative employment consequences of arthritis are known but not fully understood. Examining transitions in and out of work can provide valuable information.

To examine associations of arthritis with employment during the Great Recession and predictors of employment transitions.

Data were for 3,277 adults ages 30-62 years with and without arthritis from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey followed in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2008-2009. Employment (working vs. not working) was ascertained at baseline and five follow-ups. We estimated Kaplan Meier survival curves with 95% confidence intervals (CI) separately for time to stopping work (working at baseline) and starting work (not working at baseline) using Cox proportional hazards regression models with hazard ratios (HR).

Arthritis was significantly associated with greater risk of stopping work (HR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.3-2.2; adjusted HR= 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1-2.0) and significantly associated with 40% lower chance of starting work (HR = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.4-0.8), which reversed on adjustment (HR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.0-2.2). Employment predictors were mixed by outcome.

During the Great Recession, adults with arthritis stopped work at higher rates and started work at lower rates than those without arthritis.