A new study has identified a significant shortfall in patients with life-long but treatable conditions re-entering employment. The research is being presented at the annual Society for Endocrinology BES meeting in Manchester.
Led by Professor John Wass of the Churchill Hospital, Oxford, the group found that under half of patients with chronic endocrine conditions returned to work. This study is the first to show the effect of long-term endocrine conditions on employment status, and highlights the need for increased medical and social support for patients to return to work. Prof. John Wass, Dr Barbara Alberts and Dr Emily Parker examined unemployment and return to work rates among people with a variety of long-term endocrine conditions such as: Addison’s disease, Cushing’s disease, craniopharyngioma and Klinefelter’s syndrome. In a group of 130 patients, the study found a high rate of unemployment (40.8% vs 27.5% for the UK population).
