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Objective measurement of work absence and on-the-job productivity: a case-control study of US employees with and without gastroesophageal reflux disease

OBJECTIVE

To establish an association between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and increased work absence, as well as reduced productivity while at work, by using objective productivity measurements.

METHODS

Retrospective case-control analysis of a database containing US employees' administrative health care and payroll data for employees (N = 11,653 with GERD; N = 255,616 without GERD) who were enrolled for at least one year in an employer-sponsored health insurance plan.

RESULTS

Employees with GERD had 41% more sick leave days (P < 0.0001), 59% more short-term disability days (P < 0.0001), 39% more long-term disability days (P = 0.1910), 48% more workers' compensation days (P < 0.0001), 4.4% lower objective productivity per hour worked (P = 0.0481), and 6.0% lower annual objective productivity (P = 0.0391) than the employees without GERD.

CONCLUSIONS

GERD is associated with a significant impact on employees' work absence and productivity while at work as measured using objective data.

Cost of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease to the employer: a perspective from the United States

BACKGROUND

Employers pay more than just salary for their employees. Previous studies have largely focused on direct medical and prescription drug costs of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and few have reported on total absenteeism costs.

AIMS

To examine the annual cost of illness of GERD in an employed US population by benefit category and by place of service for direct medical costs.

METHODS

Retrospective data analysis from 2001 to 2004. International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 codes (530.1, 530.10, 530.11, 530.12, 530.19, 530.81, 787.1x, 787.2x or 251.5x) were used to identify employees with and without GERD (the control group). Measures included medical and prescription drug claims, plus indirect costs for sick leave, short- and long-term disability, and workers' compensation. For a subset of the population, the direct medical claims were analysed by place of service.

RESULTS

Data were available for 267,269 eligible employees of which 11,653 had gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. GERD was associated with a mean incremental cost of US $3,355 per employee of which direct medical costs accounted for 65%, prescription drug costs 17%, and indirect costs 19%. The place of service 'out-patient hospital or clinic' accounted for the largest part (47%) of the difference in medical costs.

CONCLUSIONS

GERD is associated with substantial direct and indirect costs, which highlight the importance of managing the disease effectively.