Employees with overactive bladder: work loss burden.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the indirect work loss costs to employers as the result of employees with overactive bladder (OAB). METHODS: Study samples were drawn from an administrative database of 1.2 million beneficiaries, including medical and disability claims (1999-2002). OAB employees were compared with matched employees without OAB. RESULTS: OAB was associated with higher annual occurrences of work loss (P < 0.01). Employees with OAB had 2.2 excess work loss days as the result of medically related absenteeism and 3.4 excess days as the result of disability compared with employees without OAB (P < 0.01 for both comparisons). Employees with OAB had increased risk of disability (P < 0.01), and female employees with OAB had a higher risk of disability than male employees (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study found that OAB was associated with work loss costs to employers resulting from increased number of employee sick days and increased risk of employee disability.