Sickness absence and disability pension in patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy

Stroke patients with large vessel occlusions risk long-term or permanent sickness absence. We aimed to analyze the proportions and days of sickness absence and disability pension in thrombectomy-treated patients.

A register-based nationwide longitudinal cohort study of stroke patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy in 2016-2021 in Sweden (identified through the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare procedural code for care interventions, KVÅ:AAL15). All thrombectomy-treated patients aged 18-63 were followed one year prior and one after stroke. Proportions (%) and number of net days of sickness absence and disability pension were calculated. Predictors for absence were calculated through multinomial regression analysis.

We included 672 patients, mean age was 53 years and 66 % were men. The proportion of patients on sickness absence decreased from 70.4 % at 30 days to 63.2 % at 90 days after stroke onset. Proportions of sickness absence and disability pension did not differ between women and men after treatment. Amongst predictors for having full-time absence at 90 days were: OR (95 % CI) being born in Europe (excl. Nordic countries) 2.17 (1.15-4.11), being single 1.59 (1.12-2.26), elementary education 2.08 (1.21-3.57), and living in a town or suburb 1.47 (1.01-2.14). Patients with no income 0.21 (0.13-0.35) or the lowest income level 0.36 (0.22-0.58) had low odds for full-time sickness absence and disability pension at 90 days.

One third of thrombectomy-treated patients had no sickness absence nor disability pension at day 30 after stroke, and the proportion of patients without absence increased during follow-up. Absence proportions and predictors for full-time absence were centered around income level, educational level, birth country, and type of living area. Notably, there were no sex differences.