Objective: To evaluate work productivity loss (WPL) and associated costs among people with newly diagnosed Parkinson’s Disease (nPD), advanced PD (aPD), and care partners (CP).

Background: PD imposes a significant economic burden on people with PD (PwP) and CP. There is a limited understanding of the impact of PD on WPL outcomes for people with advancing stages of PD.

Method: This retrospective, observational cohort study used data from the Merative™ MarketScan® Commercial Claims database linked to Health and Productivity Management (Jan 2017-Dec 2021). Actively employed adults (18-64 y) with worker benefits and a PD diagnosis (Dx, ICD-10 G20.xx) treated with ≥1 PD medication were included and categorized into 2 groups: nPD (incident users of PD treatment) and aPD (prevalent PD, newly initiated on Levodopa Equivalent Daily Dose ≥1000mg over 30 consecutive days). CP were spouses of individuals with nPD (CnPD) or aPD (CaPD), without a PD Dx, and actively employed with worker benefits. Work absenteeism (WA), short-term disability (StD), and long-term disability (LtD) were defined as annual (12-month post-index) and calculated into indirect costs per the 2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics hourly wage rate.

Results: Of individuals with linked claims and worker benefits data, only 0.04% had a PD Dx (nPD=385, aPD=305, CnPD=210, CaPD=238). Mean age was similar across PwP and CP (55.6-56.2 y) with most employed full time (96.2-97.1%). Most PwP were male (≥76%) and roughly half of CP were female (≥48%). Overall, 9.5-11.5% of PwP and CP reported WA, 4.3-10.5% filed for StD, and 1.3-3.0% of PwP filed for LtD [Table 1]. In nPD and aPD cohorts, 9.9 and 10.5% claimed StD for a mean duration of 76.9 and 65.3 d, respectively. Nearly half of StD claims (≥43%) were due to PD with a mean duration of 99.8 and 84.7 d, respectively, approximately 37-50 d longer than non-PD specific reasons (53.1-52.6%). Mean indirect costs of StD related to PD were also near twice higher ($13,239-$15,605) than for non-PD specific reasons ($7,528-$8,030) for PwP. Similarly, over half of LtD claims (60.0-66.7%) were due to PD.

Conclusion: PwP and CP may experience WPL, commonly due to PD, which was a prevalent cause of disability leave resulting in considerable indirect costs in both early and advanced PD. This underscores the economic burden of PD on employment and highlights the need for strategies to support PwP and CP in navigating these health challenges.

Table 1

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/people-with-parkinsons-disease-and-care-partners-experience-costly-work-productivity-loss/