Work participation and health status in early osteoarthritis of hip and/or knee: a comparison between Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) and Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI)
OBJECTIVE: Aims of this study were to examine the work participation of Dutch people with early osteoarthritis (OA) in hips or knees, and to compare this with data from the American Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) cohort. Additionally, the influence of health status and personal factors on work participation was analysed. METHODS: In the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK study) 1002 subjects were included. Baseline questionnaire data from 970 subjects were analysed. Rate ratios were calculated to compare work participation with the general Dutch population, after correcting (by stratifying) for age, sex and education. Health status was measured using SF-36 and Womac. Groups were compared (CHECK versus OAI, workers versus non-workers) using t-tests. RESULTS: Subjects' mean age was 56 years, 79% were females. Overall participation was 51%, similar to the general Dutch population and lower than in OAI (76%). Point prevalence of sick leave because of hip/knee complaints was 2%, year prevalence 12%. Fourteen percent of the subjects had made work adaptations. Workers reported significantly better health status (corrected for age, sex and education) than non-workers. CONCLUSION: The work participation of Dutch people with early OA is similar to the general population and significantly lower than in American subjects. Increasing age, female sex and lower education level were related to lower participation. Societal factors appear to have more effect on work participation than health status in this stage of OA. Better health status of workers could not be explained solely by selection bias, but may also be a result of work
