Abstract
Thyroid diseases are characterized by a wide range of physical and mental symptoms that can affect biological function, emotional and social life of patients. However, their impact on work functioning is not yet fully understood. Therefore, this review aims to address the way in which thyroid diseases can affect occupational outcomes, i.e., the employment rate, sick leave, working capacity and work income of patients. A systematic review of Pubmed, Scopus and ISI Web of Knowledge databases has been performed. Although it is not possible to extrapolate precise data for benign pathologies, about a third of the survivors of thyroid cancer could be unemployed. Hyperthyroid and hypothyroid patients presented a greater risk of long-term sick leave than controls, depending on the severity of the disease. Hyperthyroidism impaired working ability in about a third of affected patients, particularly in cases complicated by orbitopathy with diplopia. A possible influence of thyroid diseases on various occupational outcomes emerged from our review, however further research seems necessary to understand the relationship between work problems, specific pathological characteristics over time and risk factors in the workplace. This may support a comprehensive, interdisciplinary management of thyroid disorders, with benefits for patients’ personal, social and professional life.
Highlights
Thyroid diseases include benign functional, inflammatory, autoimmune and neoplastic diseases characterized by a wide range of physical and mental symptoms primarily, but not exclusively, related to the excess or to the deficiency of circulating thyroid hormones, to the hyper- or hypo-thyroid conditions they can cause [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Case reports, conference papers, and publications that did not focus on work consequences of thyroid pathologies or that were published in languages other than English
Studies that1did not meet the inclusion excluded to theother following title or abstract analysis, because it was a review criteria article, were 9 studies wereaccording in a language than reasons: were removed because considered out of the topic from the title or abstract analysis, English
Summary
Thyroid diseases include benign functional, inflammatory, autoimmune and neoplastic diseases characterized by a wide range of physical and mental symptoms primarily, but not exclusively, related to the excess or to the deficiency of circulating thyroid hormones, to the hyper- or hypo-thyroid conditions they can cause [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Such alterations may affect the biological and functional aspects of the organism, but may have an impact on emotional, relational, social, and working life of affected individuals [7]. The health status of patients can strongly influence their ability
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