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  • What We've Learned
How much extra time do people with certain systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) lose from paid and unpaid work, and what are the costs?
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Scientific Study Title:
Excess Productivity Costs of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic Sclerosis, and Sjogren’s Syndrome: A General Population-Based Study
Start Date:
  • 2015
End Date:
  • 2016
Research Category
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What did we do?

Systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) are a group of inflammatory arthritis disorders that can cause fatigue, pain, and organ damage. They tend to strike females during their peak parenting and working years. Though SARDs can limit patients’ ability to work, the full cost impact is unclear. Most studies only included costs for time missed from paid work, and not work time missed by homemakers, students, and retired people. To better understand these costs, we surveyed a sample of BC residents about their paid and unpaid work (i.e. cooking, cleaning, yard work, home repairs, looking after children, volunteering). Some had been diagnosed with a SARD, but others were chosen because they did not have a SARD. We compared the survey responses from each group to determine the ‘extra’ lost-work costs from SARDs.

What did we find?

We focussed on three systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs): systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis/scleroderma, and Sjogren’s syndrome. Employed persons with a SARD did not miss any more work than employed persons without a SARD. However, it was harder for them to perform their paid and unpaid work. Persons with SARDs were also more likely to be work disabled (not employed at all, for health reasons). The extra lost-work costs of SARDs ranged from $3,582 to $4,494 per-person each year. This study uncovered the ‘hidden’ lost-work costs of SARDs. Future studies should look at how flexible hours or job retraining may help reduce these costs for SARD patients and society.

The Research Team

Principal Investigator

  • Natalie McCormick , Ph.D. Research Trainee, Arthritis Research Canada Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, (The University of British Columbia)

Co-Investigators

  • Jacek Kopec, MD, MSc, PhD, Senior Scientist Emeritus, Epidemiology, Arthritis Research Canada (The University of British Columbia)
  • Larry Lynd, B.S.P. Ph.D. Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, (The University of British Columbia)
  • Mohsen Sadatsafavi, M.D. Ph.D. Assistant Professor in Health
  • Outcomes Research, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, (The University of British Columbia)

Research Staff

  • Lindsay Belvedere, M.P.H., Research Assistant, Arthritis Research Canada
  • Kathryn Reimer, M.O.T., Research Assistant, Arthritis Research Canada
  • Lynn Nowoselski, M.P.H., Research Assistant, Arthritis Research Canada
  • Eric C. Sayre, Ph.D., Research Associate, Arthritis Research Canada

Research Supervisors

  • J. Antonio Avina-Zubieta, MD, MSc, PhD, FRCPC, Senior Scientist, Rheumatology, Arthritis Research Canada (The University of British Columbia)
  • Carlo Marra, BSc (Pharm)
  • PharmD, PhD, Research Scientist, Pharmacoepidemiology, Arthritis Research Canada (University of Otago)

Who Funded This Research?

To support her Ph.D. training, Natalie McCormick received a Doctoral Research Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Additional funding was provided by the Canadian Arthritis Network/Arthritis Society, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and BC Lupus Society.

How Can People Get Involved?

This study was led by Natalie McCormick as part of her Ph.D. thesis. A total of five researchers participated in the study. Members of Arthritis Research Canada’s SARD Consumer Advisory Committee helped design the study and test the survey. 671 BC residents completed the survey: 296 with SARDs and 375 without SARDs.

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