Table 1.
Sociodemographic, disease/health, and work‐context factors reported by young adults with rheumatic disease prior to and after the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic*
| Characteristic |
Prior to COVID‐19 pandemic (n = 133) |
After onset of COVID‐19 pandemic (n = 110) |
P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment status | |||
| Employed | 114 (85.7) | 78 (70.9) | 0.01 |
| Not employed | 19 (14.3) | 32 (29.1) | |
| Sociodemographic factors | |||
| Age, mean ± SD years | 28.7 ± 4.9 | 29.6 ± 4.8 | 0.17 |
| Sex/gender | 0.97 | ||
| Women | 109 (82.0) | 91 (82.7) | |
| Men | 23 (17.3) | 18 (16.4) | |
| Non‐binary | 1 (0.75) | 1 (0.91) | |
| Educational attainment | |||
| Less than postsecondary education | 17 (12.8) | 14 (12.7) | |
| Postsecondary education or more | 116 (87.2) | 96 (87.3) | |
| Married/living as if married | 57 (42.9) | 50 (45.5) | 0.68 |
| Primary childcare responsibilities | 19 (14.9) | 17 (15.5) | 0.92 |
| Disease/health factors | |||
| Rheumatic disease diagnosis | 0.61 | ||
| Juvenile arthritis | 37 (27.8) | 33 (30.0) | |
| Lupus | 16 (12.0) | 16 (16.4) | |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 48 (36.1) | 32 (29.1) | |
| Other rheumatic disease diagnosis | 32 (24.1) | 27 (24.6) | |
| Pediatric disease onset, age <18 years | 90 (69.0) | 76 (69.7) | 0.86 |
| Pain score, mean ± SD (range 0–10) | 4.3 ± 2.4 | 4.30 ± 2.6 | 0.96 |
| Fatigue score, mean ± SD (range 0–10) | 5.8 ± 2.6 | 5.31 ± 2.6 | 0.14 |
| Disease activity score, mean ± SD (range 0–10) | 3.8 ± 2.5 | 3.6 ± 2.5 | 0.53 |
| Flare severity | 0.29 | ||
| No flares | 28 (21.1) | 31 (28.2) | |
| 1–2 flares | 66 (49.6) | 51 (46.4) | |
| ≥3 flares | 36 (27.1) | 27 (24.5) | |
| Do not know | 3 (2.3) | 1 (0.9) | |
| Self‐rated health | 0.86 | ||
| Poor | 14 (10.5) | 6 (5.5) | |
| Fair | 37 (27.8) | 35 (31.8) | |
| Good | 48 (36.1) | 45 (40.9) | |
| Very good | 30 (22.6) | 18 (16.4) | |
| Excellent | 4 (3.0) | 6 (5.45) | |
| Depression | |||
| Depressed, CESD‐10 score ≥10 | 84 (63.2) | 67 (60.9) | 0.72 |
| Not depressed, CESD‐10 score <10 | 49 (37.8) | 43 (39.1) | |
| Workplace activity limitations mean ± SD (WALS score range 0–36) | 9.9 ± 5.9 | 9.5 ± 6.3 | 0.57 |
| Work‐context factors† | |||
| Employment type | 0.24 | ||
| Full‐time work hours, ≥30 hours/week | 87 (76.3) | 65 (83.3) | |
| Part‐time work hours, <30 hours/week | 27 (23.7) | 13 (16.7) | |
| Employment contract | 0.92 | ||
| Permanent contract | 84 (73.7) | 58 (74.4) | |
| Temporary contract | 30 (26.3) | 52 (25.6) | |
| Job tenure, mean ± SD years | 3.4 ± 3.4 | 3.9 ± 3.8 | 0.29 |
| Job control, mean ± SD (range 1–5) | 2.9 ± 1.2 | 2.9 ± 1.2 | 0.74 |
| Workplace physical activity requirement, mean ± SD (range 1–5) | 3.0 ± 1.4 | 2.7 ± 1.5 | 0.13 |
| Perceived mental job demands, mean ± SD (range 1–5) | 3.8 ± 1.1 | 3.7 ± 1.2 | 0.58 |
| Perceived job stress, mean ± SD (range 1–5) | 3.1 ± 0.9 | 3.1 ± 1.1 | 0.72 |
| Perceived organizational support, mean ± SD (range 1–5) | 3.2 ± 1.3 | 3.3 ± 1.3 | 0.31 |
| Job sector | 0.48 | ||
| Trades/transportation | 29 (21.8) | 20 (25.6) | |
| Sales/services | 12 (9.02) | 3 (3.9) | |
| Professional services/technology | 15 (11.3) | 14 (17.9) | |
| Health care/social services | 57 (42.9) | 41 (52.6) |
*
Values are the number (%) unless indicated otherwise. CESD‐10 = 10‐item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale; WALS = Workplace Activity Limitations Scale.
†
Percentage calculated for those reporting paid employment.