title: Early retirement and non-employment after breast cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined whether workplace support, sociodemographic factors and co-morbidity are associated with early retirement or non-employment due to other reasons among breast cancer survivors. We also compared quality of life and chronic symptoms (pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression) among employed, retired and other non-employed breast cancer survivors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We identified breast cancer survivors diagnosed between 1997 and 2002 from either a hospital or a cancer registry in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway (NOCWO study). All patients had been treated with curative intent. Information on employment, co-morbidity and support was collected via a questionnaire. The sample included 1111 working-aged cancer-free survivors who had been employed at the time of diagnosis. We used multinomial logistic regression models to analyse the association of various determinants with early retirement and other non-employment (due to unemployment, subsidized employment or being a homemaker).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Low education, low physical quality of life, co-morbidity and pain were associated with both early retirement and other non-employment after cancer. Other non-employed survivors also rated their mental quality of life as lower and experienced anxiety and fatigue more often than all the other survivors. Moreover, they reported a lower level of supervisor support after their diagnosis than the employed survivors. Retired survivors more often reported weak support from colleagues.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Differences in ill health and functional status between various groups of non-employed cancer survivors need to be considered when planning policy measures for improving the labour market participation of this population and preventing their early withdrawal from working life.
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: M-L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lindbohm
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kuosma
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taskila
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hietanen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Carlsen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gudbergsson
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gunnarsdottir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012179:Retirement / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: breast cancer; early retirement; employment; oncology; survivor; unemployment