TY - JOUR T1 - Work Disability in Systemic Sclerosis JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol DO - 10.3899/jrheum.081237 SP - jrheum.081237 AU - Marie Hudson AU - Russell Steele AU - Ying Lu AU - Brett D. Thombs Y1 - 2009/10/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2009/09/30/jrheum.081237.abstract N2 - Objective Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem disease associated with significant morbidity and increased mortality. Little is known about work disability in SSc. We undertook this study to determine the prevalence and demographic and clinical correlates of work disability in a large cohort of patients with SSc. Methods Cross-sectional, multicenter study of patients from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Registry. Patients were assessed with detailed clinical histories, medical examinations, and self-administered questionnaires. The primary outcome was self-reported work disability. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between selected demographic and clinical variables and work disability. Results Of the 643 patients available for this study, 133 (21%) reported that they were work disabled. Work disability in SSc was common, even in people with short disease duration, and increased steadily with increasing disease duration: among those who were ≤ 65 years and who reported being either disabled or working, 28.0% and 44.8% of patients with disease duration of < 2 and 10–15 years, respectively, reported that they were work-disabled. The significant correlates of work disability included comorbidities, disease duration, diffuse disease, disease severity, pain, fatigue, and physical function. Conclusion Work disability is prevalent, occurs early, and is associated with markers of disease severity and functional status. Further research is needed to identify other, potentially modifiable, risk factors for work disability in SSc. ER -