Clinical Epidemiology (Mar 2023)

Work Disability and Return to Work After Lymphoma: A Danish Nationwide Cohort Study

  • Maksten EF,
  • Jakobsen LH,
  • Kragholm KH,
  • Baech J,
  • Andersen MP,
  • Madsen J,
  • Jørgensen JM,
  • Clausen MR,
  • Pedersen RS,
  • Dessau-Arp A,
  • Larsen TS,
  • Poulsen CB,
  • Gang AO,
  • Brown P,
  • Fonager K,
  • El-Galaly TC,
  • Severinsen MT

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 337 – 348

Abstract

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Eva Futtrup Maksten,1,2 Lasse Hjort Jakobsen,1,3 Kristian Hay Kragholm,4 Joachim Baech,1,2 Mikkel Porsborg Andersen,5 Jakob Madsen,1,2 Judit Mészáros Jørgensen,6 Michael Roost Clausen,7 Robert Schou Pedersen,8 Andriette Dessau-Arp,9 Thomas Stauffer Larsen,10 Christian Bjørn Poulsen,11 Anne Ortved Gang,12 Peter Brown,12 Kirsten Fonager,2,13 Tarec C El-Galaly,1,2 Marianne Tang Severinsen1,2 1Department of Haematology, Clinical Cancer Research Unit, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; 2Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; 3Department Mathematical Sciences, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; 4Department of Cardiology & Unit of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; 5Department of Cardiology, Nordsjaellands Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark; 6Department of Haematology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 7Department of Haematology, Vejle Hospital, Vejle, Denmark; 8Department of Medicine, Section of Haematology, Regionshospital Goedstrup, Goedstrup, Denmark; 9Department of Haematology, Hospital South West Jutland, Esbjerg, Denmark; 10Department of Haematology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark; 11Department of Haematology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark; 12Department of Haematology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen and Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 13Department of Social Medicine, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, DenmarkCorrespondence: Eva Futtrup Maksten, Department of Haematology, Clinical Cancer Research Unit, Aalborg University Hospital, Sdr. Skovvej 15, Aalborg, 9000, Denmark, Tel +45 97663872, Fax + 45 97666323, Email [email protected]: Many patients diagnosed with lymphoma are of working age. Cancer patients are known to have a higher risk of sick leave and disability pension, but this has only been delineated for certain subtypes of lymphoma. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the overall risk of disability pension for all lymphoma subtypes and at quantifying return to work for patients with lymphoma in work before diagnosis.Patients and Methods: Patients aged 18– 60 years with lymphoma in complete remission (CR) diagnosed between 2000 and 2019 were included in the study. Using national registers, each patient was matched with five comparators from the general population with same sex, birth year, and level of Charlson Comorbidity Index. Risk of disability pension was calculated from 90 days after CR or end of treatment with competing events (death, retirement pension, early retirement pension, relapse for patients, or lymphoma diagnosis for comparators). Return to work for patients was calculated annually until 5 years after diagnosis for patients employed before diagnosis.Results: In total, 4072 patients and 20,360 comparators were included. There was a significant increased risk of disability pension for patients with all types of lymphoma compared to the general population (5-year risk difference: 5.3 (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.4;6.2)). Patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma were more likely to get disability pension than patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (sex- and age-adjusted 10-year risk difference: 2.9 (95% CI: 0.3;5.5)). One year after diagnosis, 24.5% of the relapse-free patients were on sick leave. Return to work was highest 2 years after diagnosis (82.1%).Conclusion: Patients with lymphoma across all subtypes have a significantly higher risk of disability pension. Return to work peaks at 2 years after diagnosis.Keywords: lymphoma, disability pension, return to work

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