RETURN TO LABOUR MARKET IN SCHIZOPHRENIA AND OTHER PSYCHOSES - THE NORTHERN FINLAND BIRTH COHORT 1966

Abstract Background People with psychotic disorders typically have the poorest rate of employment compared to other mental disorders. However, the chances of returning back to labour market and work after long-term work disability is unclear. Aim of this study was to study proportion of persons who can return to labour market after they have received disability pension. We also aim to study potential predictors for return to work. Methods The study was based on the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) (N=12 058) which is an unselected, general population-based sample. NFBC1966 offers us a unique way to examine return to labour market and its predictors in general population sample with true prospectively collected data with 50-years follow-up. Different national registers were utilized in the study (information about psychiatric diagnoses and occupational outcomes). Occupational outcomes until end of the 2016 were measured by information about disability pension, disability benefits and employment contracts. The sample included 232 schizophrenia patients, 208 persons with other psychosis and 1927 persons with non-psychotic psychiatric disorder diagnosed until the end of 2016. There is also large amount of predictor data (for occupational outcomes) collected since birth until recent years. Results Of the 141 (61%) persons with schizophrenia who had been on disability pension due to psychiatric reason, disability pensions of 16 (11%) persons had ended due to return to labour market. Of the 74 (32%) persons in the other psychosis subgroup and 180 (9%) in the non-psychotic psychiatric disorder subgroup who had been on disability pension due to psychiatric reason, corresponding numbers of pension’s ending due to return to labour market were 18 (24%) and 56 (31%), respectively. Disability pensions of 14 (10%) persons in schizophrenia group, 3 (4%) persons in other psychosis subgroup and 4 (2%) persons in non-psychotic psychiatric disorder subgroup had ended due to death. Disability pensions of 111 (79%) persons in schizophrenia group, 53 (72%) persons in other psychosis subgroup and 120 (67%) persons in non-psychotic psychiatric disorder subgroup were still running. Later, also sociodemographic information, psychiatric and somatic comorbidity and age at the onset of disease as predictors for the good occupational outcome (i.e. return to work) will be analysed and presented. Discussion Our results indicate that having schizophrenia diagnosis often means relatively poor occupational outcome compared to other psychiatric disorders and ending up on disability pension. Besides of that some people with psychosis manage to maintain their working ability, some people also manage to return to labour market after being on disability pension. Finding the predictors for returning back to labour force in long-time follow-up can help us to cut off the long-term disability periods and support people back to work in the future.