title: Short-term disability in solid tumor patients with bone metastases and skeletal-related events.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The skeleton is a common site of metastasis in patients with solid tumors. These patients often experience pain and reduced quality-of-life. This analysis evaluated the time and costs associated with short-term disability use among solid tumor patients with bone metastases (BM) and skeletal-related events (SREs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from patients 18-64 years old with solid tumors and BM, eligible for short-term disability benefits between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2010, were extracted from MarketScan Research Databases. Short-term disability hours and costs associated with BM and SREs were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 1098 patients met the criteria. For all patients with BM, the monthly mean short-term disability hours were 17.7 h pre-BM diagnosis and increased to 60.2 h post-BM diagnosis (p < 0.001). The corresponding mean monthly short-term disability costs were $277 and $963 in the pre- and post-BM diagnosis periods, respectively (p < 0.001). Monthly mean short-term disability hours were higher for the cohort of patients with SREs (21.2 h pre-SRE diagnosis and 67.4 h post-SRE diagnosis) than for those without an SRE (8.6 h pre-SRE diagnosis and 14.4 h post-SRE diagnosis) (p < 0.001). Similarly, the corresponding monthly mean short-term disability costs were higher for patients with SREs ($625 and $1259 pre- and post-SRE diagnosis, respectively) than for patients without an SRE ($452 and $612 pre- and post-SRE diagnosis, respectively) (p < 0.001). RESULTS of a multivariate analysis indicated that SREs were associated with an additional 39.4 short-term disability hours and $613 in short-term disability costs per month (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Short-term disability hours and costs increased significantly when patients with solid tumors developed BM and SRE.
authors.affiliation: Amgen Inc. , Thousand Oaks, CA , USA.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Arun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balakumaran
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arellano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000191:economics / Q000209:etiology; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics* / Q000556:secondary*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Bone metastases; Productivity loss; Short-term disability; Skeletal-related events; Solid tumors