Observational studyRMD open2024
Effects of employees living with an 'arthritis' on sickness absence and transitions out of employment: a comparative observational study in the UK.
Observational study in RMD open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Risk factors for voluntary early old-age retirement in middle-aged workers: A meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Acupuncture-Combined Tuina on Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Trial
- Clinical care patterns in the 10-years prior to primary total hip replacement: a matched population-based case-control analysis in England.BMC medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo assess sickness absence and transitions from employment for employees with arthritis compared with employees without arthritis over time.
methodsWe use 10 waves of the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (2009-2019). The sample (n=38 928) comprises employees aged 50 years to state retirement age. Arthritis was self-reported and could refer to people with conditions under the umbrella term 'inflammatory arthritis' or osteoarthritis (hereafter 'arthritis'). Weighted random-effects multivariable linear probability models were estimated for two employment-related measures (1) sickness absence and (2) transitions from employment to: (a) unemployment; (b) long-term sick; (c) early retirement. These were regressed against a variable for arthritis and confounding factors (age, socioeconomic job classification, employing sector, year and additional health conditions). Additional analyses examined an interaction between the variable arthritis and these factors to test whether the effect of arthritis differs between these groups.
resultsEmployees reporting having arthritis were more likely to have sickness absence (1.35 percentage points greater rate (95% CI (0.92, 1.78)) and to transition to long-term sick (0.79 percentage points (0.46, 1.13)) and early retirement (0.58 percentage points (0.05, 1.11)). No effect was found for transitions to unemployment. There was limited evidence that the effects of arthritis vary for employees in different socioeconomic classifications.
conclusionsEmployees living with arthritis have higher rates of sickness absence and greater rates of transitions from employment to long-term sick and early retirement. Further work could look at ways to quantify the implications for individuals, employers and the state and ways to alleviate the effects of living with arthritis on work participation.
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