Exploring How Pain Leads to Productivity Loss in Primary Care Consulters for Osteoarthritis: A Prospective Cohort Study

Objective Osteoarthritis pain has become a leading cause of decreased productivity and work disability in older workers, a major concern in primary care. How osteoarthritis pain leads to decreased productivity at work is unclear; the aim of this study was to elucidate causal mechanisms and thus identify potential opportunities for intervention. Methods Population-based prospective cohort study of primary care consulters with osteoarthritis. Path analysis was used to test proposed mechanisms by examining the association between pain at baseline, and onset of work productivity loss at three years for mediation by physical limitation, depression, poor sleep and poor coping mechanisms. Results High pain intensity was associated with onset of work productivity loss (Adjusted Odds Ratio 2.5; 95% CI 1.3, 4.8). About half of the effect of pain on work productivity was a direct effect, and half was mediated by the impact of pain on physical function. Depression, poor sleep quality and poor coping did not mediate the association between high pain intensity and onset of work productivity loss. Conclusions As pain is a major cause of work productivity loss, results suggest that decreasing pain should be a major focus. However, successfully improving function may have an indirect effect by decreasing the impact of pain on work productivity, especially important as significant pain reduction is often difficult to achieve. Although depression, sleep problems, and coping strategies may be directly related to work productivity loss, addressing these issues may not have much effect on the significant impact of pain on work productivity.