Vocational adjustment and survival on chronic hemodialysis

The survival of 71 patients on chronic dialysis correlated positively with vocational rehabilitation. Employed patients (n = 47) survived longer (p less than 0.001) than unemployed (n = 24). Within the employed group, parttime workers (n = 23) lived longer (p less than 0.01) than fulltime workers (n = 24). Although patients on chronic dialysis appear to live longer if employed, fulltime employment may be excessively stressful in a patient population whose treatment makes large demands on the patient's time.