Affiliations: [a]
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| [b]
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| [c]
Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| [d]
University of Wisconsin, Stout, WI, USA
| [e]
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Chung-Yi Chiu, Department of Kinesiology and Community Health. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 127 Huff Hall, M/C 588, Champaign, IL 61820, USA. Tel.: +217 244 6435; Fax: +217 333 2766; E-mail: chiucy@illinois.edu.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE:To examine the relationship between employment status (no employment, part-time employment, and full-time employment) and functional disability, health-related quality of life, and life satisfaction of people with MS. METHODS:157 individuals with MS completed a survey packet, including employment status, self-report disability severity, and health-related scales. A series of multivariate analysis of variance was performed to determine the differences between employment groups in health-related outcomes. RESULTS:The unemployed group had the highest levels of incapacity and social impairments among the three groups. They also had the lowest physical health-related quality of life and life satisfaction. The part-time employed group had the lowest levels of depression and higher levels of physical activity participation among the three groups of individuals with MS. CONCLUSIONS:Employment is significantly related to health-related quality of life, and as a result, it should be considered an important public health intervention for people with MS.
