Highlights
- •Unemployment and early retirement rates were high at 8.3% and 18.0%, respectively.
- •Relevant disability and frequent seizures were predictors of loss of employment.
- •Seizure freedom was identified as a resilience factor for job retention.
- •Most patients would be able to continue working with moderate restrictions.
- •Recent use of occupational reintegration matters was rarely reported.
Abstract
The primary aim of this study was to identify predictors and resilience factors for
unemployment and early retirement in patients with epilepsy of working age based on
data from a multicenter German cohort study performed in 2020 (n = 456) by using multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. A second aim was
to assess the assumed working ability of patients as well as the use of occupational
reintegration measures. The unemployment rate was 8.3%, and 18% of patients had retired
early due to epilepsy. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis identified
the presence of a relevant disability and frequent seizures as significant predictors
of unemployment and early retirement, while seizures in remission were the only resilience
factor associated with job retention. Regarding occupational incapacity, at the time
of the survey, most of the patients in early retirement or unemployment were fit for
work in their original or extended occupational setting. The proportion of patients
with recent epilepsy-related occupational retraining (0.4%) or job changes (0.9%)
was low, and only 2.4% reported an epilepsy-related reduction in work time. These
findings underline the persistent disadvantage of patients with epilepsy in the professional
field and the urgent need for effective, comprehensive work reintegration measures
that must be made accessible for all patients.
Graphical abstract
Graphical Abstract
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 18, 2023
Accepted:
May 5,
2023
Received in revised form:
May 3,
2023
Received:
March 20,
2023
Identification
Copyright
© 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
