abstract: 'OBJECTIVE: To assess the long-term impact of headache on labor force

  participation among primary care patients with headache.

  DESIGN: A 2-year cohort study comparing employment status of primary

  care patients with headache and that of patients with back pain.

  PARTICIPANTS: Patients with headache (n = 662) or back gain (n = 1,024)

  sampled from persons visiting a primary care physician who completed

  baseline, 1-year and 2-year follow-up interviews.

  MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The percentage of subjects unemployed at

  baseline, I year or 2 years was determined, excluding the retired and

  homemakers. Among all patients, the percentage unable to obtain or keep

  full-time work in the year prior to each interview because of headache

  or back pain was also assessed. Over the 3-year period covered by the

  study interviews, 13\% of headache and 18\% of back pain patients were

  unable to obtain or keep full-time work because of their pain condition.

  Among those in the labor farce, 12\% of headache patients and 12\% of

  back pain patients were unemployed for any reason at one or more

  interviews. Among the one in five headache patients with a poor

  long-term outcome, 36\% were unable to obtain or keep full-time work

  because of;headache at same time compared with 4\% of headache patients

  with a good outcome. Among headache patients, women, persons aged 18 to

  24 years, those with lower levels of education, persons with depressive

  symptoms, and migraineurs were more likely to have reduced labor force

  participation owing to headache,

  CONCLUSIONS: The likelihood of reduced labor force participation among

  primary care patients with headache was considerable and concentrated

  among the one in five patients with a poor long-term outcome. Headache

  patients at a social disadvantage in attaining occupational role

  stability (e.g., younger women or poorly educated patients) were more

  likely to report reduced labor force participation.'
affiliation: 'Stang, P (Corresponding Author), 1744 Dekalb Pike,Suite 175, Blue Bell,
  PA 19422 USA.

  Glaxo Res Inst, Chapel Hill, NC USA.'
author: Stang, P and Von Korff, M and Galer, BS
author_list:
- family: Stang
  given: P
- family: Von Korff
  given: M
- family: Galer
  given: BS
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.1998.00094.x
files: []
issn: 0884-8734
journal: JOURNAL OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE
keywords: 'migraine; headache; epidemiology; back pain; epidemiology; unemployment;

  outcomes'
keywords-plus: UNITED-STATES; MIGRAINE; IMPACT; PAIN
language: English
month: MAY
number: '5'
number-of-cited-references: '13'
orcid-numbers: VonKorff, Michael/0000-0001-5386-8477
pages: 296-302
papis_id: fff5b676c7e9dc8cb30792f464c47951
ref: Stang1998reducedlabor
times-cited: '32'
title: Reduced labor force participation among primary care patients with headache
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000073669700002
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '1'
volume: '13'
web-of-science-categories: Health Care Sciences \& Services; Medicine, General \&
  Internal
year: '1998'