THE IMPACT OF HEPATITIS C ON WORK PRODUCTIVITY AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND HIGH VIRAL LOAD PATIENTS

Purpose: Approximately 2.7 million patients in the United States and 170 million patients worldwide are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). However, the health outcome effects of the virus, particularly among those with a high unmet need, are not yet full understood.  

Method: Using data from the 2009 United States (US) National Health and Wellness Survey, patients who reported a hepatitis C diagnosis (n=695) were compared to a propensity-score matched-control group (n=695). African-Americans in the hepatitis C group (n=76) and those who self-reported a high viral load (800,000+ IU; n=57) were each compared to the matched control group on measures of work productivity (absenteeism, presenteeism, overall work impairment, and activity impairment) as assessed by the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire.  All analyses applied sampling weights to project to the population.

Result: The HCV patient group was equivalent to the matched control group on all socio-demographic (e.g. gender, age, ethnicity, income, etc) and health history (e.g. smoking, alcohol use, anxiety, depression, number of comorbidities) variables.  African-American HCV patients reported significantly higher levels of presenteeism (36.9% vs. 23.7%, p<.05) and overall work impairment (40.8% vs. 26.5%, p<.05) relative to matched controls. No differences were observed for absenteeism or activity impairment.  Patients with a high viral load reported significantly higher levels of absenteeism (17.1% vs. 6.5%, p<.05), presenteeism (37.3% vs. 23.7%, p<.05), overall work impairment (44.9% vs. 26.5%, p<.05), and activity impairment (55.1% vs. 40.2%, p<.05) than matched controls.

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the HCV can be a substantial burden on patients (particularly among patients with a high unmet need) and their employers by reducing workers’ productivity and impairing their daily activities.