Article

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the Work Ability Index (WAI), a short 7-item
self-report questionnaire addressing issues of perceived disability, impairment,
and expectations for resuming work, predicts application for disability pension,
recommendations for further treatment, and other adverse work-related criteria in
patients with chronic back pain after rehabilitation. DESIGN: Cohort study with
3-month follow-up. SETTING: Seven inpatient rehabilitation centers. PARTICIPANTS:
Patients (N=294; 168 women; mean age, 49.9y) with chronic back pain.
INTERVENTION: The WAI was completed at the beginning of rehabilitation. All
patients were treated according to the German rehabilitation guidelines for
chronic back pain and work-related medical rehabilitation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:
Application for disability pension, as assessed by a postal questionnaire 3
months after discharge. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis
of the association between the WAI at baseline and subsequent application for
disability pension revealed an area under the curve of .80 (95% confidence
interval [CI], .62-.97). Youden index was highest when the WAI cutoff value was
</=20 points (sensitivity, 72.7%; specificity, 82.2%; total correct
classification, 81.7%). After adjusting for age and sex, persons with a baseline
WAI score of </=20 points had 15.6 times (95% CI, 3.6-68.2) higher odds of
subsequent application for disability pension, 4.9 times (95% CI, 1.5-16.8)
higher odds of unemployment, and 6 times (95% CI, 2.4-15.2) higher odds of
long-term sick leave at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The WAI could help rehabilitation
professionals identify patients with back pain with a high risk of a subsequent
application for disability pension.
CI - Copyright (c) 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS