The association of clinical, psychosocial, and angiographic variables with work status in patients with coronary artery disease.

The bearing of clinical history, epidemiological risk factors, psychosocial factors, angiographic findings, and treatment characteristics was studied in relationship to the work status of 182 men who underwent coronary angiography because of presumptive coronary artery disease. Follow-up at one year found 42% of the cohort persistently unemployed or working at a lower level, 40% at the same job, and 19% at a more demanding job. Multiple regression analysis was used to derive the most important variables predictive of work status. Neither number of vessels diseased nor Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery entered the multiple regression analysis. Instead, the most important variables, listed in decreasing order of importance, are: age, subsequent cardiac morbid events, past myocardial infarction, and mood during the follow-up year. Together, they account for 24% of the variance in work status outcome (p less than 0.001).