Correlates of employment after AIDS diagnosis in the Boston Health Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of personal and job characteristics on the time to employment loss after diagnosis of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and to examine how job loss affects patients' income.

Data were collected from 305 patients with AIDS at three sites in Boston, Mass, between February 1990 and July 1991. Life-table methods were used to estimate the number of months employed after diagnosis. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the effect of risk factors on the probability of ceasing employment in a month.

Seventy-six percent of respondents were working at the time of diagnosis; 53% still had a job at the time of the baseline interview, which averaged 16 months later, but about one in three was on sick or disability leave. Mental and physical demands of jobs significantly influenced the likelihood of employment loss. The loss of earnings reduced monthly income by 75%.

Job characteristics affect the likelihood of employment loss, which in turn has a deleterious effect on income. Programs supporting persons with AIDS during the transition out of work or enabling them to modify their job demands may also reduce these problems.