Work productivity is associated with disease activity and functional ability in Italian patients with early axial spondyloarthritis: an observational study from the SPACE cohort

BACKGROUND: Spondyloarthritis often affects young people, typically in their working years. The aim of our study was to investigate work productivity and its relationship with disease activity and physical functioning in Italian patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) with chronic back pain (CBP) for ≥3 months and ≤2 years, and onset < 45 years of age. METHODS: Baseline absenteeism, presenteeism, work productivity loss (assessed by the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire (WPAI)), and disease activity (assessed by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI)/Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS)) and functional ability (assessed by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Functional Index (BASFI)) of patients with axSpA (rheumatologist’s diagnosis) included in the Italian section of the Spondyloarthritis Caught Early (SPACE) cohort were collected. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations between work productivity and disease activity/physical functioning. RESULTS: Absenteeism in 51 patients with axSpA was low (8.3 %). A decrease in work productivity was related to an increase in disease activity. Disease activity was strongly correlated with absenteeism (p < 0.01), presenteeism (p < 0.01) and work productivity loss (p < 0.001). In addition, decreased work productivity was related to a decrease in functional ability. Physical functioning was correlated with absenteeism (p < 0.001), presenteeism (p < 0.05) and work productivity loss (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Impairment of work productivity was correlated with disease activity and physical functioning in Italian patients with axSpA with CBP for ≥3 months and ≤2 years, with onset <45 years of age.