Intention to work among outpatients with malignant neoplasms, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease

Objectives: Employment support for working age people with disease is important. We investigated the intention to work among outpatients with malignant neoplasms, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Methods: We used anonymous data from the 2007, 2010, and 2013 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions in Japan, a self-administered nationwide questionnaire survey. Data for 154,445 participants (76,059 men and 78,386 women) aged 20–64 years were analyzed using logistic regression models adjusted for covariates. Results: The number of outpatients with malignant neoplasms, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease was 851, 1,037, and 716, respectively. The adjusted odds ratio for not working in people with the intention to work was significantly higher among outpatients with the three diseases than among non-outpatients, for both men and women. The adjusted odds ratio for intention to seek permanent work in unemployed people with the intention to work was lower among outpatients with cerebrovascular disease than among non-outpatients for men (p=0.093), and was significantly higher among outpatients with malignant neoplasms than among non-outpatients for women (p=0.007). Conclusions: This study identified a high proportion of unemployed people with the intention to work among outpatients with these three diseases, and suggests that there are disease-associated differences in employment type sought.