Working Status in Patients With Untreated Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: A Descriptive Longitudinal Study

Many patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) remain untreated if the risk of treatment exceeds the estimated risk of aneurysm rupture, potentially leading to diagnosis-related stress and anxiety. Working status may serve as a marker for the total level of function including mental health and psychological burden of the condition. The aim of the study was to assess the working status before and after a diagnosis of an untreated UIA.

This was a retrospective nationwide registry-based descriptive longitudinal study. It included all working-age patients diagnosed with an UIA in Norway between 2008 and 2018 and 1:1 age-matched and sex-matched controls without a diagnosis of an intracranial aneurysm that were randomly selected from the Norwegian population. The history of sickness absence in the period of 1 year before and after diagnosis was retrieved from The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration records and compared between the groups.

In total, 2141 patients and 2141 controls were included in the study. Proportion of working patients decreased from 62.1% (95% CI 60.0%-64.1%) 1 year before the diagnosis to 51.3% (95% CI 49.1%-53.4%) 1 year after the diagnosis ( P < .001). In comparison, the proportion of working controls decreased from 77.9% (95% CI 76.1%-79.6%) 1 year before day 0 to 73.4% (95% CI 71.5%-75.2%) 1 year after day 0 ( P = .001). The odds of working were 86.7% lower among the patients than among the controls (odds ratio 0.133, 95% CI 0.091-0.194; P < .001) when controlled for the baseline working status. The older the individuals, the less likely they were to work (odds ratio 0.908, 95% CI 0.889-0.926; P < .001).

The work participation of patients diagnosed with UIA is low prediagnosis compared with the general population and decreases significantly postdiagnosis.