The effects of age-related macular degeneration on work productivity: A meta-analysis

• Published in: European journal of ophthalmology Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 641 - 648
• Main Authors: Tran, Edward, Nayeni, Manav, Shah, Nirmit, Malvankar-Mehta, Monali S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Cost of Illness; Efficiency; Humans; Macular Degeneration; Unemployment - statistics & numerical data; socioeconomics and education in medicine/ophthalmology; practice management < socioeconomics and education in medicine/ophthalmology; retina; age-related macular degeneration < retina; preventive medicine/screening < socioeconomics and education in medicine/ophthalmology
• ISSN: 1120-6721; 1724-6016
• DOI: 10.1177/11206721231185808

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of vision loss and blindness in older adults. Given the aging population in developed countries and the increased participation of older adults in the labour market, this paper aims to understand the impact of AMD on workplace productivity. Economic studies, comparative studies, observational studies, cohort studies, case series, randomized control trials, clinical trials, multicenter studies from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINHAL, as well as grey literature, were systematically searched to obtain all relevant literature. Duplicate records were removed, and two independent reviewers screened records for relevance. After screening, a risk of bias assessment was carried out. Data were extracted and a meta-analysis was performed using STATA 15.0. Fixed-effect and random-effect models were computed based on heterogeneity. Seven studies consisting of 3,060,864 subjects from 5 different countries were included in this systematic review. Mean wages lost due to impaired work productivity ranged from $1,395 to $55,180. The mean unemployment rate attributed to AMD ranged from 5.50% to 77.00%. Meta-analysis results indicated a significant unemployment rate (SMD = 0.44, CI: [0.27, 0.62]). Patients with AMD experience impaired work productivity as demonstrated by the wages lost and significantly higher rates of unemployment.