Long-term employment status and the association with fatigue in patients with grade II glioma.
Ellen M P van Loon, Willemijn Ernens, Majanka H Heijenbrok-Kal and 3 others
PMID 33912977WHAT IT FOUND
Among glioma patients employed at diagnosis, those who did not return to work reported significantly higher physical and mental fatigue than those who did.
Younger age, male sex and avoiding multiple anti-epileptic drugs were also linked to returning to work.
Key findings
01Patients who did not return to work reported significantly more fatigue across all measured domains compared to those who returned.
02Independent factors associated with the ability to return to work included younger age, male sex, lower physical and mental fatigue, and not using multiple anti-epileptic drugs.
03Of the patients who returned to work, 68.7% reported that their brain tumour changed their work situation, such as through demotion or reduced hours.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional and retrospective, meaning it cannot prove that fatigue caused unemployment; it only shows an association. The response rate was 57%, which may introduce selection bias. Employment status was only measured at diagnosis and approximately 8 years later, so changes in work status during that long interval are unknown. The study relied on self-reported fatigue and subjective cognitive symptoms rather than objective performance measures. The sample was from a single centre and had an over-representation of patients with IDH-mutated tumours, which may have better prognoses.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that treating fatigue will automatically lead to a return to work. This study only shows an association between high fatigue and unemployment; it did not test any interventions to reduce fatigue.