Lost Productive Time and Cost Due to Common Pain Conditions in the US Workforce

To measure lost productive time (absence and reduced performance due to common pain conditions) during a 2-week period. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study using survey data from the American Productivity Audit (a telephone survey that uses the Work and Health Interview) of working adults between August 1, 2001, and July 30, 2002.

Random sample of 28 902 working adults in the United States. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Lost productive time due to common pain conditions (arthritis, back, headache, and other musculoskeletal) expressed in hours per worker per week and calculated in US dollars.