Impact of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension on Employment, Work Productivity, and Quality of Life - Results of a Cross-Sectional Multi-Center Study.

Data on burden of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are mostly limited to physical and clinical endpoints as well as quality of life. Research on employment, work productivity, and educational background is scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of PAH on employment status and work productivity in Germany. In a multicenter cross-sectional survey, patients with PAH were surveyed in two large pulmonary hypertension referral centers in Germany. The survey contained questions on education, employment, work productivity and impairment (WPAI, also at the time of diagnosis), quality of life, and socioeconomic status. Additional data was assessed using clinical research database for 6-min walk distance (6MWD), WHO functional class, and N-terminal fragment of pro-brain natriuretic peptide. All patients provided written informed consent, and the institutional review board approved this study. In total, 212 patients were surveyed (72% female; median, 57 years) approximately 6 years after initial PAH diagnosis. A total of 76% had an idiopathic PAH followed by hereditary and associated PAH (10% each). Employment at the time of diagnosis was 48% (34% full-time, 14% part-time), with productivity measured by a WPAI score of 6 points and decreased to 29% (21% full-time, 8% part-time) at the time of the survey (with a WPAI score of 2 points, Patients with PAH had a reduced employment rate, which was influenced by education and 6MWD. There was a considerable loss of employment over the course of the disease. Employment should be one possible treatment goal in patients with PAH to provide social participation to this patient group.

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Copyright © 2022 Fuge, Park, von Lengerke, Richter, Gall, Ghofrani, Kamp, Hoeper and Olsson.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

HGa has received personal fees from Actelion, AstraZeneca, Bayer, BMS, GSK, Janssen-Cilag, Lilly, MSD, Novartis, OMT, Pfizer, and United Therapeutics, outside the submitted work. HGh has received fees from Actelion, Bayer, Gilead, GSK, MSD, Pfizer, and United Therapeutics, outside the present work. MH has received fees for lectures and/or consultations from Acceleron, Actelion, Bayer, GSK, Janssen, MSD, and Pfizer, all outside the present work. KO has received fees for lectures and/or consultations from Acceleron, Actelion, Bayer, Janssen, MSD, United Therapeutics, GSK, and Pfizer, all outside the present work. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.