Depression: A Predictor of Detachment From Employment After MI

HealthDay News — About one-quarter of adults discharged after first-time myocardial infarction (MI) are detached from employment after 1 year, according to a study published online in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Laerke Smedegaard, MD, from Herlev Gentofte Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues used individual-level linkage of data from nationwide registries to identify patients of working age (30 to 65 years) discharged after first-time MI between 1997 and 2012 who were employed before admission. The Aalen Johansen estimator was used to assess the cumulative incidence of return to work and detachment from employment.

The researchers found that 56.9% of the 39,296 patients of working age discharged after first-time MI were employed before admission. Of those, 91.1% had returned to work within 1 year, but 24.2% were detached from employment and received social benefits 1 year after their return. 

Patients aged 60 to 65 years and 30 to 39 years had the highest detachment rates; rates were significantly higher in patients with MI versus population controls. Heart failure, diabetes mellitus, and depression were predictors of detachment (odds ratios 1.2, 1.13, and 1.77, respectively). Continued employment was favored by high education levels and high income.

“Several factors including age and lower socioeconomic status were associated with risk of detachment from employment,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

Reference

Smedegaard L, Nume AK, Charlot M, Kragholm K, Gislason G, Hansen PR. Return to work and risk of subsequent detachment from employment after myocardial infarction: insights from Danish nationwide registries. J Am Heart Assoc. 2017;6(10). pii: e006486.