Study investigates the association between employment and the health status of women with fibromyalgia.

Researchers have recently assessed the health status differences of women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) who are employed and unemployed. In addition the study was conducted to evaluate whether employment and family work influence the health status of women with FM as it does for women in community studies.Two hundred and eighty seven women were recruited from 118 randomly selected rheumatology practices. Subjects completed a telephone interview which collected data on demographic characteristics, health status, symptoms, family work, and social support. Formal statistical analysis, including estimation and testing, focused on the relationship between employment and four health status measures: Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ), visual analog scale (VAS) for pain on the interview day, number of painful areas, and VAS for fatigue on the interview day. The relationship between employment and these measures were evaluated using analysis of variance, chi-square, linear regression, and ordinal logistic regression.One hundred and thirty-seven subjects were employed and 150 were unemployed. The majority of participants reported high levels of symptoms and poor health status. In the bivariate analyses, employed women reported 'significantly less pain, less fatigue, and better functional status' than those who were unemployed.In the multivariate analyses, employment remained a significant factor in explaining the number of painful areas, functional status (MHAQ), and fatigue, with employed women reporting better health status than those not employed. According to the analysis, employment was not associated with pain on the day of the interview. However, the psychological demands of family work were consistently related to all dependent measures of health status, with those with greater psychological demands reporting 'worse health status'.In their discussion the authors comment that, 'as in community studies, employed women with FM report better health status than women who are not employed'. Reisine et al identify that the demands of family work exert 'a serious and significant effect on every dimension of health status and should be the focus of greater clinical attention'. The authors consider further follow-up will assess whether employment has a protective effect for women with FM or whether women with less severe FM tend to remain in the workforce.Reference...