Work Ability in Patients with COPD: Premature Retirement

Abstract

Introduction: Existing evidence indicates that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can cause work disability in many patients with this condition. Objective: To compare frequency of premature retirement and work life duration and its relation to sex and occupation during active period between retired patients with COPD and retired subjects in whom COPD was excluded. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study including 147 retired patients with COPD (87 males and 60 females, aged 64 to 74 years) and an equal number of retired persons in whom COPD was excluded, matched to COPD patients by sex, age and occupation group. In addition, all study subjects were classified in four occupation groups following the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08). The study protocol included completion of an interviewer-led questionnaire and spirometry with bronchodilator test by indication. Results: Frequency of premature retirement (age less than 64 years for men and 62 years for women) was significantly higher in COPD patients than in non-COPD controls (32.6% vs. 17.7%; P = 0.022). Mean age of retirement was significantly lower in COPD patients than in non-COPD controls (55.8 ± 5.9 yrs vs. 60.1 ± 3.1 yrs; P = 0.000). Mean duration of active work life was significantly lower in COPD patients than in non-COPD controls (26.1 ± 2.8 yrs vs. 32.7 ± 3.1 yrs; P = 0.000). There was not significant difference in the distribution of premature retirement by sex in both examined groups. Significantly higher frequency of premature retirement was found in COPD patients who worked as manual workers than in those who worked in non-manual jobs (42.8% vs. 21.3%; P = 0.037). Conclusion: We found significant impact of COPD on work ability, i.e. significantly higher frequency of early retirement and significantly shortened work life in COPD patients than in subjects without COPD, indicating a need of improvement of the preventive measures and activities in order to maintain the work ability of these patients as long as possible.