Abstract
Background
Coronary heart disease (CHD) can lead to loss of workability and early retirement. We aimed to investigate return to work (RTW) and its relationship towards psychosocial well-being and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
Design
Secondary analyses were applied to cross-sectional data from the EUROASPIRE IV survey (European Action on Secondary and Primary prevention through Intervention to Reduce Events).
Methods
Participants were examined and interviewed at 6–36 months following the recruiting event. Psychosocial well-being and HRQoL were evaluated by completing the ‘Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale’ and ‘HeartQoL’ questionnaire. Using generalised mixed models, we calculated the odds ratios for RTW. Depression, anxiety and adjusted means of HeartQoL were estimated accounting for RTW.
Results
Out of 3291 employed patients, the majority (76.0%) returned to work, of which 85.6% were men, but there was a general underrepresentation of women. Young (p < 0.001), high-educated (p < 0.001) patients without prior cardiovascular events (p < 0.05) were better off regarding RTW. No significant associations with CHD risk factors and cardiac rehabilitation were established. Those that rejoined the workforce were less susceptible to psychosocial distress (anxiety/depression, p < 0.001) and experienced a better quality of life (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
These findings provide evidence that non-modifiable factors (sociodemographic factors, cardiovascular history), more than classical risk factors, are associated with RTW, and that patients who resume work display better psychosocial well-being and HRQoL. Our results illustrate a need for tailored cardiac rehabilitation with a focus on work-related aspects, mental health and HRQoL indicators to reach sustainable RTW, especially in vulnerable groups like less educated and elderly patients.
Keywords
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
