Association Between IBD Disability and Reduced Work Productivity (Presenteeism): A Population-Based Study in...

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Occupational Health
• Health Economics

Background:

• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) significantly impacts patients' lives, including their ability to maintain work productivity.
• Presenteeism, defined as reduced productivity while at work, is a recognized consequence of IBD disability.
• Understanding predictors of presenteeism is crucial for developing supportive workplace interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify potential predictors of work presenteeism in individuals with IBD.
• To compare the predictive performance of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Disability Index (IBDDI) against four other established disability and quality of life scales in relation to presenteeism.
• To assess the association between IBDDI scores and presenteeism levels.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 744 working adults (aged 18-65) with IBD was recruited from the University of Manitoba IBD Research Registry.
• Presenteeism was quantified using the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS), with higher scores indicating greater impairment.
• Receiver operating characteristic curves and linear regression analyses were employed to evaluate the predictive capacity of the IBDDI, WHODAS 2.0, WSAS, IBDQ, and K6 for presenteeism.

Main Results:

• 63% of participants reported no reduced work productivity; however, 37% experienced some degree of presenteeism.
• The IBDDI demonstrated a strong association with presenteeism, with each 10-point increase linked to a 2.19-point rise on the SPS.
• Disease duration also correlated with presenteeism, where each additional year of disease was associated with a 0.08-point decrease in SPS score.

Conclusions:

• Over one-third of individuals with IBD experience presenteeism, highlighting a significant occupational challenge.
• Presenteeism in IBD is strongly associated with overall disability, diminished quality of life, and emotional distress.
• The newly developed IBDDI demonstrates comparable efficacy to established scales in predicting work presenteeism among IBD patients.