Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROPSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES
Volume 30, Issue 3, Pages 188-193Publisher
AMER PSYCHIATRIC PUBLISHING, INC
DOI: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.17070144
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- European Huntington's Disease Network
- Gossweiler Foundation
- Cure Huntington's Disease Initiative
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Unemployment is common for those with Huntington's disease (HD), a genetic neurodegenerative disorder, and affects patients' quality of life. HD is characterized by motor disturbances, cognitive dysfunction, and psychiatric symptoms. The purpose of this article was to determine which clinical signs of HD are predictive of unemployment. Data for employed (N5114) and unemployed (N5106) HD mutation carriers were used to investigate group differences. Univariate logistic regression analyses, adjusted for age and gender, were performed to determine individual predictors of unemployment. Subsequently, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed, entering all significant results from the univariate analyses into one fully adjusted model to determine the strongest predictors. HD mutation carriers with lower cognitive performances and higher apathy scores were more likely to be unemployed than were HD-mutation carriers with higher cognitive scores and no signs of apathy. Motor functioning was an independent predictor of unemployment but was not associated with unemployment in the fully adjusted model. Cognitive impairments, especially in the executive domain, and apathy were independent determinants of unemployment in HD mutation carriers. Motor disturbances, the clinical hallmark of HD, did not appear to be the most important predictor for work cessation. These results should be taken into consideration in clinical practice when evaluating HD patients' ability to work.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available