Work disability more than thrice as likely after AF

Atrial fibrillation (AF) substantially aggravates the likelihood of work disability, particularly in patients of low socioeconomic status, a recent study has found.

The study included 28,059 Danish residents (mean age 54.4 years, 73 percent men) who had been diagnosed with AF between 1 January 2000 to 31 September 2014. Work disability was identified through permanent social security benefit. All patients were matched 1:10 according to age and sex with an AF-free general-population control (n=312,667; mean age 54.5 years, 71 percent men).

AF patients saw a 4.5-percent risk of receiving permanent social security benefits in the 15 months after their episode. In controls, the same risk over an equivalent time span was 1.3 percent. According to the fully adjusted generalized linear models, such difference translated to a significantly greater likelihood in the AF group (risk difference [RD], 2.1, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.9–2.4).

Notably, this effect of AF was strongest in participants with low education (RD, 3.4, 95 percent CI, 2.8–4.0) and income (RD, 3.5, 95 percent CI, 2.9–4.2) and in those who were living alone (RD, 2.4, 95 percent CI, 1.8–3.0). The likelihood of work disability after AF was present across all age subgroups but was strongest in participants 51–63 years old.

“Holistic management of patients with AF might be beneficial to keep patients with AF in the labour market,” the researchers said, suggesting intervention such as “stroke prevention, symptom control, optimizing cardiovascular risk factors, patient education, and handling of psychosocial side effects.”