Correlates of Absenteeism and Presenteeism in Temporomandibular Joint Disorder: The effects of pain severity and pain catastrophizing on work productivity

Abstract

Severe pain and poor pain-related coping have been shown to negatively impact daily functioning. However, associations between these factors and lost work productivity in temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) have received little attention. The current study investigated the effects of pain severity and pain catastrophizing on absenteeism (physical absence from work) and presenteeism (on-the-job lost work productivity) in a full-time, working for pay TMD sample. Pain severity, but not catastrophizing, was significantly associated with reported absenteeism. Both pain severity and catastrophizing significantly predicted presenteeism after controlling for the effects of race and depressive symptoms. The interaction effect of these factors was non-significant in predicting presenteeism. Helplessness significantly contributed to reported presenteeism accounting for the effects of the other pain catastrophizing subscales (rumination and magnification). Further research investigating the impact of negative affectivity (i.e. depressive symptoms) may further elucidate the associations of pain severity and pain-related coping with lost work productivity.