Survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome often experience delays in returning to work

FINDINGSForty-four percent of people who held jobs before contracting a condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome were jobless one year after they were discharged from the hospital, costing them an average of about $27,000 in earnings. After one year, fewer of them had private health insurance (30 percent, down from 44 percent) and more of them were enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid (49 percent versus 33 percent). There was little change in the number of jobless survivors who were uninsured.The study found that the people who experienced the longest delays in returning to work tended to be older and non-white, and those who had been hospitalized for longer periods of time. Men and women experienced similar delays before they could return to work, and the severity of people ’s illness did not affect how long they were out of work.BACKGROUNDAcute respiratory distress syndrome affects about 200,000 Americans each year. Often caused by severe infection or trauma, it is characterized by a buildup of fluid in the lungs ’ air sacs, which leads to a substantial decrease in oxygen in the bloodstream and rapidly developing difficulty breathing. People with the condition are usually hospitalized and placed on life-supporting ventilators. The syndrome often causes long-lasting cognitive dysfunction, mental health issu es and physical impairments, all of which can affect people’s ability to hold jobs.Several studies have suggested that joblessness is common in survivors o...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news