OBJECTIVES: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent type of arthritis in the United States. OA-related pain significantly impairs daily activities, decreasing quality of life and work productivity. This study evaluated the productivity loss, specifically missed workdays, in adults with OA compared to those without OA using nationally representative samples.

METHODS: This retrospective study utilized data from the 2016-2020 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) involving adults aged 18–64 diagnosed with OA based on the International Classification of Diseases codes. Work productivity loss was captured using missed workdays - the number of half-day or more missed from work annually for health-related reasons. Missed workdays, a count outcome variable, were modeled using multiple models. The Negative Binomial Regression (NBR) model was selected to examine variation in missed workdays based on the model selection criteria. Weighted descriptive statistics and adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRR) were used to compare adults with OA and those without OA, accounting for the complex survey design of the MEPS.

RESULTS: According to the MEPS data, there were 3.21 (95% CI 2.99-3.43) million adults with OA, with an overall prevalence of 5.77%. Among adults with OA, the average number of missed workdays was 8.1 (SD: ±15), whereas the comparator group averaged 4.9 missed workdays (SD: ±11.9). Based on the NBR model, adults with OA exhibited a 1.34-fold higher rate ((95% CI: 1.24-1.45) of missed workdays compared to non-OA adults. In addition, the analyses found racial and ethnicity variation, with blacks (IRR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.22-1.36) and Asians (IRR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.63-0.74) as significant predictors of missed workdays.

CONCLUSIONS: The study found significantly higher productivity loss for adults with OA compared to those without OA. Effective OA disease management can not only improve quality of life but also can help with productivity loss.