Patient-Reported Outcomes in Ankylosing Spondylitis Correlate With Work Productivity

Relationships between work productivity and activity impairment with patient-reported outcomes appeared to be linear in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), according to a study published online ahead of print in Arthritis Care & Research. 

“Interventions to control pain and disease activity and improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are therefore likely to improve work productivity and reduce activity impairment in patients with AS,” wrote corresponding author Marina Magrey, MD, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, and coauthors.

The study was a post hoc analysis of data from a pair of tofacitinib trials among patients with active AS. Researchers looked at absenteeism, activity impairment, presenteeism, and productivity loss on the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire in Spondyloarthritis (WPAI:SpA) and how they related to patient-reported outcomes for pain, disease activity, and HRQoL in up to 475 patients.

Evidence pointed to mostly linear relationships between WPAI:SpA domains and patient-reported pain, disease activity, and HRQoL, according to the study. The worst patient-reported outcomes were associated with the most decline in activity impairment, presenteeism, and productivity loss. Meanwhile, the best patient-reported outcomes were associated with less activity impairment, presenteeism, and productivity loss.

Incremental improvements in patient-reported outcomes were associated with improved activity impairment, presenteeism, and productivity loss, the study showed.

“Relationships between absenteeism and patient-reported outcomes were the weakest,” researchers reported, “owing to absenteeism being low in the study population.”

Reference:
Magrey M, Wei JC, Yndestad A, et al. Relationships of work productivity and activity impairment with patient-reported outcomes in ankylosing spondylitis: results from two trials. Arthritis Care Res. Published online November 1, 2023. doi:10.1002/acr.25267