Wage-subsidised employment as a result of permanently reduced work capacity in a nationwide cohort of patients diagnosed with haematological malignancies

BACKGROUND: Patients with haematological malignancies have a poorer labour market prognosis than the general population. We have previously found that they have low rates of return to work, and a higher risk of being granted disability pension, than individuals without a history of these diseases. The aim of this study was to further investigate the labour market prognosis for these patients, by comparing the risk of being granted wage-subsidised (WS) employment as a result of permanently reduced work capacity among patients diagnosed with haematological malignancies to a reference cohort, and to determine if relative risks differ between subtypes of haematological malignancies.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We combined data from national registers on Danish patients diagnosed with haematological malignancies between 2000 and 2007 and a reference cohort without a history of these diseases. A total of 3194 patients and 28 627 reference individuals were followed until they were granted WS employment, disability pension, anticipatory pension, old age pension, emigration, death or until 26 February 2012, whichever came first.

RESULTS: A total of 310 (10%) patients and 795 (3%) reference individuals had their work capacity permanently reduced to an extent that they were granted WS employment during the follow-up period. Age- and gender-adjusted relative risks differed significantly between the subgroups of haematological malignancies, and four years after diagnosis they ranged from 2.47 (95% CI 1.46-4.16) for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma to 10.83 (95% CI 7.15-16.40) for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia.

CONCLUSION: All eight subtypes of haematological malignancies were associated with an increased risk of being granted WS employment due to permanently reduced work capacity compared to the reference cohort. The relative risks differed according to haematological malignancy subtype, and the highest was found for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia.