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Stories for Reprint
CDC Study Reveals Arthritis Impact on Workers
By Ferdous Al-Faruque, MARRTC Staff
A recent state-by-state study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that arthritis has a major impact on the American work force.
The CDC asked adults, ages 18-64, if and how arthritis affected their work. They found that arthritis-attributable work limitations or AAWL varied greatly from state to state. Kentucky had the highest number, 1 out of 7 adults who had AAWL, while Hawaii had the smallest number with just 1 out of 30. The report also found that people between 45 and 65 years of age were most affected by AAWL.
Kristina Theis, an epidemiologist with the CDC's Arthritis Program and principal investigator of the study says she was surprised by how many workers were affected and even more surprised by the lack of concern over the issue. Theis says although arthritis is a serious problem, society often ignores the challenges workers with the disease face. "A person who is so limited by their arthritis that they can't work doesn't disappear," she says.
As baby boomers age and more continue to work past the age of 65, the CDC predicts AAWL will continue to grow as a problem. "All employers in the United States are facing an aging work force," says Theis. " So, we can't just ignore arthritis impact on work."
According to Theis, the report is an important message to the medical community. Beyond asking all the standard questions about a person's arthritis, health care providers need to ask patients how arthritis affects their work. She says people often don't discuss their work limitations with their physician and as a result never learn ways to help themselves stay employed.
Theis states that often it doesn't take too much to keep people with arthritis in the work force. In some cases, simple tools such as providing ergonomic office furniture and making adjustments in the workplace have shown to be effective in keeping people with arthritis employed. "Simple accommodations can make all the difference in staying employed," says Theis. She says that in some industries it's likely more cost effective to keep an experienced worker with arthritis and provide necessary accommodations than it would be to hire a new worker.
Exercise and a healthy lifestyle can also lessen the impact of arthritis in the workplace. "If you decrease someone's pain and get them functioning better, that increases the likelihood of keeping their employment," said Theis. The report points out CDC funds state health departments to provide exercise and self-management programs to people with arthritis around the country. Information about these programs can be found on the CDC's Web site at www.cdc.gov/arthritis/intervention.
Although arthritis is a big problem in the workplace, Theis remains optimistic, "The vast majority of persons with arthritis who are limited can still contribute in quite a substantial way."
"We hope for policy makers to take a look at this and start thinking seriously about what having this many people in their workforce limited by arthritis means to their state and the health of their economy."
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