Abstract 4343806: The features of return-to-work anxiety after implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation among the Japanese working population

Backgrounds: The patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) have been shown to be anxious, whereas the features of return-to-work anxiety after ICD implantation among the Japanese working population have not been clarified. Purpose: This study aimed to identify the features of anxiety about returning to work after ICD implantation and providing reemployment support. Methods: Data of 56,002 patients who worked before admission to the cardiology department were analyzed using the Inpatient Clinico-Occupational Database of the Rosai Hospital Group (2011–2022). The patients were further categorized into two groups depending on whether ICD was implanted during hospitalization: ICD group and non-ICD group. In only ICD group, multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the relationships between the prehospitalization occupational data, clinical data, and anxiety about returning to work as assessed by questionnaire. Results: The ICD group (n=275) had a higher rate of anxiety about returning to work than the non-ICD group (n=55,727) (26.2% vs. 16.1%; p<0.001). In the ICD group, younger age at discharge, female sex, self-employed, and longer working hours per day were independently associated with anxiety about returning to work. Among patients experiencing anxiety about returning to work, compared with the non-ICD group, the ICD group had a lower rate of anxiety about workplace understanding (17.9% vs. 35.0%; p=0.008); but a higher rate of anxiety about workplace life (37.5% vs. 18.3%; p<0.001). Conclusions: The ICD group had a higher rate of anxiety about returning to work. This study suggests that interventions for anxiety about returning to work, especially regarding life in the workplace, are important for working populations with ICDs.