Does a pending case affect prognosis of work ability amon patients with back- or neck-related pain?
Translated title
Påvirker en verserende sag prognosen for arbejdsevnen blandt patienter med ryg- eller nakke-relaterede smerter?
Author
Holmskov, Solveig Ørum
Term
5. Term (Master thesis)
Education
Publication year
2015
Submitted on
2015-12-18
Pages
28
Abstract
Baggrund: Rygsmerter er hyppige. En dansk undersøgelse fra 2015 fandt, at 36 % af voksne over 16 år havde problemer med rygsmerter. I Danmark har personer med rygsmerter i gennemsnit 2,6 ekstra sygefraværsdage om året sammenlignet med resten af befolkningen, hvilket koster samfundet ca. 2,6 mia. kr. Derudover bruges omkring 4,7 mia. kr. årligt på førtidspensioner som følge af rygproblemer. Flere studier har vist, at verserende erstatningssager kan hænge sammen med dårligere forløb. Formål: At undersøge om en verserende sag om økonomisk kompensation (fx arbejdsskade, forsikring, erstatning og/eller klage) påvirker arbejde og forsørgelse et år senere hos patienter henvist med ryg- eller nakkesmerter. Metode: Data stammer fra et spørgeskema og DREAM-databasen, et nationalt register med ugevis information om sygefraværsydelser og tilkendt førtidspension for lønmodtagere i både offentlig og privat sektor. Inklusionskriterier: under 63 år, ikke på førtidspension eller tidlig tilbagetrækningspension på tidspunktet for spørgeskemaet, og svar på spørgsmålet om verserende sag. Oplysning om verserende sag kom fra spørgeskemaet. Oplysninger om forsørgelsesgrundlag fra 1 år før til 1 år efter spørgeskemaet kom fra DREAM. Nedsat arbejdsevne blev defineret som modtagelse af førtidspension, permanent deltidsydelse eller sygedagpenge. Smerte blev vurderet med VAS (en skala hvor patienten angiver sin smerte). Resultater: 754 patienter deltog; 42 % var under 40 år, og 389 var kvinder. Ved start rapporterede patienter med en verserende sag højere smerter (VAS), de mente oftere, at arbejde forværrede eller ville forværre deres smerter, og de troede oftere, at de aldrig ville vende tilbage til deres nuværende job. Efter 1 år var en verserende sag forbundet med øgede odds for nedsat arbejdsevne (odds ratio 1,6; konfidensinterval 1,0–2,5). Konklusion: En verserende kompensationssag ser ud til at øge risikoen for nedsat arbejdsevne hos patienter med ryg- eller nakkesmerter.
Background: Back pain is common. A Danish study from 2015 found that 36% of adults over 16 had back pain. In Denmark, people with back pain have an extra 2.6 days of sick leave per year compared with the rest of the population, costing about 2.6 billion DKK. In addition, around 4.7 billion DKK are spent annually on disability pensions due to back conditions. Several studies have suggested that having an ongoing compensation claim is linked to poorer outcomes. Objective: To examine whether having a pending financial compensation case (e.g., workers’ compensation, insurance, indemnification and/or complaint) affects work and sources of income one year later among patients referred with back- or neck-related pain. Methods: Data came from a questionnaire and the DREAM database, a national register with weekly information on sickness absence benefits and granted disability pensions for employees in the public and private sectors. Inclusion criteria were age under 63 years, not receiving disability pension or early retirement pension at the time of the questionnaire, and having answered the question about a pending case. Information on pending cases was obtained from the questionnaire. Information on sources of income from one year before to one year after the questionnaire came from DREAM. Reduced work ability was defined as receiving disability pension, permanent part-time benefit, or sickness benefit. Pain was assessed using VAS (a patient-reported pain rating scale). Results: 754 patients were included; 42% were under 40 years old, and 389 were women. At baseline, those with a pending case reported higher pain (VAS), more often believed that work worsens or would worsen their pain, and more often believed they would never return to their current job. At one-year follow-up, having a pending case was associated with higher odds of reduced work ability (odds ratio 1.6; confidence interval 1.0–2.5). Conclusion: Having a pending compensation case appears to increase the risk of reduced work ability among patients with back- or neck-related pain.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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