title: Impact of JIA on parents' work absences.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Children with JIA have long-term morbidity and require extensive parental assistance. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of having a child with JIA on parents' missed work time, which can lead to decreased work productivity.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Database (2000-9) was accessed to identify a cohort of parents having a child with newly diagnosed JIA. For comparison, a cohort of parents having no children with JIA was identified and matched with the preceding cohort. Parents' work absences were analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariable regression. Estimates were weighted to be generalizable to the US employer-sponsored insurance population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study identified 108 parents having a child with newly diagnosed JIA (mean age 42.5 years), representing an estimated 3335 (weighted) parents nationally. Most of them were from the South (45%), male (71%) and employed in the transportation and utilities industry (58%). The demographic characteristics of the control cohort of parents were generally similar. Children with JIA (mean age 10.6 years) represented an estimated 3528 cases nationally. The mean number of reported missed work-time hours was 281.81 (s.e. 40.50) in a 9 year period for parents having a child with JIA compared with other parents 183.36 (28.55). Work-time loss was significantly related to having a child with JIA, sex and geographical region of residence. Parents having a child with JIA were 2.78 times more likely to report work-time loss [odds ratio (OR) 2.78 (95% CI 1.47, 5.26)] than those having no children with JIA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents having a child with JIA report significant work-time loss compared with parents with no children having JIA, particularly during the year following the child's diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research, AbbVie, North Chicago, IL and School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA rrasu@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Rafia S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Rasu
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research, AbbVie, North Chicago, IL and School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Cline
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research, AbbVie, North Chicago, IL and School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research, AbbVie, North Chicago, IL and School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research, AbbVie, North Chicago, IL and School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Agbor Bawa
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research, AbbVie, North Chicago, IL and School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cifaldi
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017281:Cost of Illness; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011584:Psychology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: MarketScan; absenteeism; juvenile idiopathic arthritis; parent; productivity