title: Back to work? Socioeconomic status after kidney transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Employment after kidney transplantation is an important marker of health recovery. The study addresses the impact of successful kidney transplantation on socioeconomic factors and employment in a Swiss cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients who received a kidney allograft at the University Hospital of Basel between 2000 and 2011 were investigated. A standardised survey was used to obtain information on socioeconomic factors 1 year before and after successful transplantation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 610 patients were contacted; 354 (58%) answered the survey. The median age of respondents was 53.5 (interquartile range 42-61) years at the time of transplantation, 31.2% were females. Overall, 201 out of 282 working-age patients (71.3%) were working 1 year after transplantation: 102 full-time, 55 part-time, 30 patients part-time with additional disability pension, and 14 housework. Seventy-two patients (25.3%) did not work 1 year after transplantation: 63 patients had a full or partial disability pension, and nine patients were unemployed. Thirty out of 282 working-age patients (10.6%) had improved working ability after transplantation. Employment after transplantation was favoured by: living donor transplantation (p <0.0001), pre-emptive transplantation (p <0.0001), dialysis duration ≤1 year (p <0.0001), preserved employment before transplantation (p <0.0001), and higher education (p = 0.003), whereas age above 50 years (p = 0.006), and dialysis duration > 1 year (p <0.0001) had a negative impact.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The employment rate in this Swiss cohort before and after successful kidney transplantation is high compared with the literature. A high number of living donors, of pre-emptive transplantations, and short dialysis vintages contribute to this observation.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Transplantation Immunology and Nephrology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Eppenberger
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Transplantation Immunology and Nephrology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hirt-Minkowski
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Transplantation Immunology and Nephrology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dickenmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D062707:Return to Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors