RA-related work-disability rates were similar in the USA and European countries .
An apparent decrease in the prevalence of RA-related work disability since the 1970s may be related to a decrease in physically dem and ing work rather than to epidemiologic changes in RA .
The majority of the literature addresses permanent disability and temporary work loss ; none of the studies review ed reported the effect of RA on presenteeism , i.e. work limitation from the employer perspective , and there are few published studies of the effectiveness of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in reducing work-related productivity loss
BACKGROUND Rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ) is a chronic , debilitating disease with a significant impact on workplace productivity .
AIM To perform a systematic review of studies of the relationship between RA and reduced  workplace productivity .
The longterm outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis: Work disability: a prospective 18 year study of 823 patients.
OBJECTIVE Work disability is a common outcome of rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ) . Yet there have been no longitudinal , longterm , prospect i ve studies of work disability in this illness . This 18 year longitudinal study investigates the rate of work disability , its concomitants , and its predictors , using a large series of clinical , laboratory , and self-report measures . METHODS In 1974 , a computerized data base was developed for the contemporaneous entry of all patient visits . Data included clinical , laboratory , and self-report information . Patients were also assessed by mailed question naires at 6 month intervals . In 1994 , patients with RA were interviewed in detail about lifetime work status and work disability . RESULTS Work disability was estimated to occur in 25 % at 6.4 years and 50 % at 20.9 years after disease onset , and most disability occurred late in the course of disease . Work disability was predicted by almost every demographic and clinical variable . Education level , body mass index ( BMI ) , erythrocyte sedimentation rate , rheumatoid factor , pain , Health Assessment Question naire ( HAQ ) disability , and physical dem and s of the job were independently associated with disability . Over the course of their illness , the work disabled had a 35 % reduction in family income , and had more abnormal scores for joint counts , grip strength , sedimentation rate , pain , global severity , HAQ disability , and anxiety and depression . Except for BMI , the results were essentially similar in a subset of 156 patients seen first with a disease duration of less than one year . CONCLUSION Work disability can be predicted by patient and work characteristics present at the first clinic visit , but it is persistent abnormalities of sedimentation rate , HAQ disability , and pain , which may be detected in longitudinal followup , that best predict work disability after work and demographic characteristics are accounted for
RA-related work-disability rates were similar in the USA and European countries .
An apparent decrease in the prevalence of RA-related work disability since the 1970s may be related to a decrease in physically dem and ing work rather than to epidemiologic changes in RA .
The majority of the literature addresses permanent disability and temporary work loss ; none of the studies review ed reported the effect of RA on presenteeism , i.e. work limitation from the employer perspective , and there are few published studies of the effectiveness of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in reducing work-related productivity loss
BACKGROUND Rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ) is a chronic , debilitating disease with a significant impact on workplace productivity .
AIM To perform a systematic review of studies of the relationship between RA and reduced  workplace productivity .