TY - JOUR T1 - Work-associated Arthritis Productivity Loss: Where Do We Stand in Its Measurement? JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 1792 LP - 1793 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.100503 VL - 37 IS - 9 AU - WAYNE N. BURTON AU - ALYSSA SCHULTZ AU - CHEN YU CHIN AU - DEE W. EDINGTON Y1 - 2010/09/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/37/9/1792.abstract N2 - Bernardino Ramazzini, the father of occupational medicine, recognized the association of the health of workers and their on-the-job productivity in his book Diseases of Workers, published in 17131. Productivity loss associated with workers is related to time off work, termed absenteeism, and decrements in on-the-job productivity, termed presenteeism2. The measurement of absenteeism, whether from a portion of a workday or a full workday, is conceptually understandable and potentially objective to measure3. There are a wide variety of reasons for absences from work related to medical conditions, ranging from incidental or scattered absences to extended disability leave. Although there is general agreement that medical conditions such as arthritis can affect on-the-job productivity, there is no general agreement on its measurement, translation, or monetization.Publications on the association of medical conditions with objectively measured on-the-job productivity have been relatively few and limited to such studies as anemia in factory workers4, nutritional status in tea pickers5, nutritional status in road construction workers6, and medical conditions and health risk factors in telephone call center workers7 … Address correspondence to Dr. Burton. E-mail: wayneburtonmd{at}comcast.net ER -