title: Absenteeism among employees with irritable bowel syndrome.
abstract: Patterns of illness or disability-related work absence six months before and six months after a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were assessed from medical claims and absenteeism databases and were compared with a sample of patients with no gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. The records of 630 patients with IBS were compared with those of 1,260 persons without GI conditions. Mean monthly IBS-related absences increased by 69% (from 0.96 to 1.62 days) from the beginning of the six-month period before diagnosis to the month of diagnosis. With multivariate regression analysis, the incremental effect of an IBS diagnosis on six-month absenteeism was estimated to be 3.27 absences greater for persons with IBS.
authors.affiliation: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, New Jersey, USA. christopher.zacker@pharma.novartis.com
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zacker
authors.forename: Anita J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Chawla
authors.forename: Shaohung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Leigh Ann
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Albers
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States