Cognitive difficulties tied to lower return to work after breast cancer

Return to work two years after a breast cancer diagnosis is associated with higher cognitive speed performance before and after treatment, according to a study published online Aug. 19 in JAMA Network Open.

Marie Lange, Ph.D., from Normandie Université UNICAEN in Caen, France, and colleagues examined whether cognition, assessed using objective and subjective scores, was associated with return to work two years after a breast cancer diagnosis. The analysis included 178 women with breast cancer.

The researchers found that 20.8% of women did not return to work at year 2. Returning to work was more likely among patients with a higher occupational class (i.e., professional) and less likely among those who had a mastectomy (24.1 versus 54.1%).

There was an association between return to work at year 2 and lower overall cognitive impairment (1-point unit of increased odds ratio [1-pt OR], 0.32), higher working memory (1-pt OR, 2.06), higher processing speed (1-pt OR, 1.97), higher attention performance (1-pt OR, 1.63), higher perceived cognitive abilities (1-pt OR, 1.12), and lower depression (1-pt OR, 0.83). There were associations observed between return to work and higher processing speed (1-pt OR at baseline and year 1, 2.38 and 1.95, respectively), higher executive performance (1-pt ORs, 2.61 and 2.88, respectively), and lower physical fatigue (10-pt ORs, 0.81 and 0.84, respectively).

"Cognitive difficulties should be assessed before return to work to propose suitable management," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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