Labor market affiliation after deployment: Danish soldiers fare well, but face increased risk of
                    long-term sickness absence when returning from Afghanistan

AbstractThis study aimed to identify if antipsychotic exposure in offspring is associated with psychiatric and non-psychiatric healthcare service use and work disability of their parents. This Swedish population-based cohort study was based on data comprising 10,883 individuals with schizophrenia, who had at least one identifiable parent in the nationwide registers, and their parents (N = 18,215). The register-based follow-up during 2006–2013 considered the level of antipsychotic exposure and persistence of use of the offspring, further categorized into first (FG) and second generation (SG) antipsychotics, and orals versus long-acting injections (LAIs). The main outcome measure was parental psychiatric healthcare service use, secondary outcomes were non-psychiatric healthcare use and long-term sickness absence. SG-LAI use was associated with a decreased risk (relative risks [RR] 0.81-0.85) of parental psychiatric healthcare use compared with not using SG-LAI, whereas oral antipsychotics were associated with an increased risk (RRs 1.10–1.29). Both FG- and SG-LAI use by the offspring were associated with a lower risk of long-term sickness absence (range of odds ratios 0.34–0.47) for the parents, compared with non-use of these drugs. The choice of antipsychotic treatment for the offspring may have an impact on work disability and healthcare service use of their parents.

Download Full-text

Perceived and content-related emotional demands at work and risk of long-term sickness absence in the Danish workforce: a cohort study of 26 410 Danish employees

Occupational and Environmental Medicine ◽

10.1136/oemed-2019-106015 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 76 (12) ◽

pp. 895-900 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Elisabeth Framke ◽

Jeppe Karl Sørensen ◽

Mads Nordentoft ◽

Nina Føns Johnsen ◽

Anne Helene Garde ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Sickness Absence ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Environment And Health ◽

Frequency Of Contact ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Unit Increase ◽

Estimated Risk ◽

Emotional Demands

ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine whether high emotional demands at work predict long-term sickness absence (LTSA) in the Danish workforce and whether associations differ by perceived and content-related emotional demands.MethodsWe included 26 410 individuals from the Work Environment and Health in Denmark Study, a nationwide sample of the Danish workforce. Emotional demands at work were measured with two items: one assessing perceived emotional demands (asking how often respondents were emotionally affected by work) and one assessing content-related emotional demands (frequency of contact with individuals in difficult situations). LTSA was register based and defined as spells of ≥6 weeks. Respondents with LTSA during 2 years before baseline were excluded. Follow-up was 52 weeks. Using Cox regression, we estimated risk of LTSA per one-unit increase in emotional demands rated on a five-point scale.ResultsDuring 22 466 person-years, we identified 1002 LTSA cases. Both perceived (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.28) and content-related emotional demands (HR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.13) predicted risk of LTSA after adjustment for confounders. Further adjustment for baseline depressive symptoms substantially attenuated associations for perceived (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.16) but not content-related emotional demands (HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.11). Individuals working in occupations with above-average values of both exposures had an increased risk of LTSA (HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.52) compared with individuals in all other job groups.ConclusionsPerceived and content-related emotional demands at work predicted LTSA, also after adjustment for baseline depressive symptoms, supporting the interpretation that high emotional demands may be hazardous to employee’s health.

Download Full-text

Changes in drinking as predictors of changes in sickness absence: a case-crossover study

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ◽

10.1136/jech-2017-209777 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 72 (1) ◽

pp. 61-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jenni Ervasti ◽

Mika Kivimäki ◽

Jaana Pentti ◽

Jaana I Halonen ◽

Jussi Vahtera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alcohol Use ◽

Sickness Absence ◽

Control Period ◽

Heavy Drinking ◽

Short Term ◽

Case Crossover ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Case Period ◽

Drinking Session

BackgroundWe investigated whether changes in alcohol use predict changes in the risk of sickness absence in a case-crossover design.MethodsFinnish public sector employees were surveyed in 2000, 2004 and 2008 on alcohol use and covariates. Heavy drinking was defined as either a weekly intake that exceeded recommendations (12 units for women; 23 for men) or having an extreme drinking session. The responses were linked to national sickness absence registers. We analysed the within-person relative risk of change in the risk of sickness absence in relation to change in drinking. Case period refers to being sickness absent within 1 year of the survey and control period refers to not being sickness absent within 1 year of the survey.ResultsPeriods of heavy drinking were associated with increased odds of self-certified short-term (1–3 days) sickness absence (multivariable-adjusted OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.38 for all participants; 1.62, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.21 for men and 1.15, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.33 for women). A higher risk of short-term sickness absence was also observed after increase in drinking (OR=1.27, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.52) and a lower risk was observed after decrease in drinking (OR=0.83, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.00). Both increase (OR=1.38, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.57) and decrease (OR=1.27, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.43) in drinking were associated with increased risk of long-term (>9 days) medically certified all-cause sickness absence.ConclusionIncrease in drinking was related to increases in short-term and long-term sickness absences. Men and employees with a low socioeconomic position in particular seemed to be at risk.

Download Full-text

Increased Risk of Long-Term Sickness Absence, Lower Rate of Return to Work, and Higher Risk of Unemployment and Disability Pensioning for Thyroid Patients: A Danish Register-Based Cohort Study

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ◽

10.1210/jc.2013-4468 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 99 (9) ◽

pp. 3184-3192 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

M. A. Nexo ◽

T. Watt ◽

J. Pedersen ◽

S. J. Bonnema ◽

L. Hegedüs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Return To Work ◽

Sickness Absence ◽

Rate Of Return ◽

Increased Risk

Download Full-text

Long-term Sickness Absence Among Professionals: Investigating Gender, Socioeconomic Position and Care Work

Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies ◽

10.18291/njwls.v8i4.111928 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Aleksander Å. Madsen

Keyword(s):

Labor Market ◽

Sickness Absence ◽

Socioeconomic Position ◽

Event History Analysis ◽

Low Socioeconomic ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

History Analysis ◽

Market Factors ◽

Care Worker

This study investigates whether the risk of long-term sickness absence among professionals de- pends upon their socioeconomic position and whether they do caring work. It also explores whether the variation in risk can be attributed to sociodemographic and labor market factors.The event history analysis is based on longitudinal register data from the entire population of Norwegian professionals from 2003 to 2013.The results showed that both low socioeconomic position and being a care worker was associated with long-term sickness absence.The group with the highest risk was professionals of lower socioeconomic position doing caring work.While the results were similar for men and women, the relative risk of sickness absence was higher for male professionals. Sociodemographic and labor market factors partly explained the observed association, and even more so for men. Several candidate explanations for the remaining association as well as potential implications for social policy are discussed.

Download Full-text

Work stress, migration background and risk of long-term sickness absence in Denmark

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz185.333 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

R Rugulies ◽

J K Sørensen ◽

I E H Madsen ◽

M Nordentoft ◽

K Sørensen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sickness Absence ◽

Work Stress ◽

Migration Background ◽

Self Report ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Effort Reward Imbalance ◽

Reward Imbalance ◽

Prevention Activities

Abstract Background Work stress may increase risk of long-term sickness absence, but little is known if this association differs by migration background. In this study, we examined the prospective association between effort-reward imbalance at work and risk of long-term sickness absence in individuals with and without migration background in the Danish workforce. Methods We included 59,468 respondents from a nationwide survey on work and health, 3,226 with a migration background (immigrants or first generation descendants of immigrants) and 56,242 without a migration background. Effort-reward imbalance was assessed by self-report. Migration background and long-term sickness absence (spells ≥6 weeks) were assessed by national register data. Using Cox regression, we estimated the association between effort-reward imbalance and onset of long-term sickness absence during 12 months follow-up separately for participants with and without a migration background, adjusted for age, sex, education and previous long-term sickness absence. Results The effort-reward imbalance score at baseline was similar for respondents with and without a migration background. The hazard ratio for long-term sickness absence during follow-up per 1 standard deviation increment in effort-reward imbalance at baseline was 1.26 (95% CI: 1.16-1.37) and 1.16 (95% CI: 1.13-1.20) for respondents with and without a migration background, respectively. Conclusions Work stress, measured by effort-reward imbalance, is associated with an increased risk of long-term sickness absence in workers with and without a migration background in Denmark. Although the estimate was higher in workers with a migration background, confidence intervals overlapped indicating that associations were similar in both groups. The results suggest that prevention activities on effort-reward imbalance and long-term sickness absence should not be prioritized by migration background but should be offered to the whole workforce. Key messages Work stress, measured by effort-reward imbalance, is associated with an increased risk of long-term sickness absence in workers with and without a migration background in Denmark. The results suggest that prevention activities on effort-reward imbalance and long-term sickness absence activities should be offered to the whole workforce.

Download Full-text

Labor Market Participation Before and After Long-Term Part-Time Sickness Absence in Finland

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine ◽

10.1097/jom.0000000000001818 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 62 (4) ◽

pp. e142-e148

Author(s):

Jenni Ervasti ◽

Johanna Kausto ◽

Aki Koskinen ◽

Jaana Pentti ◽

Jussi Vahtera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Labor Market ◽

Sickness Absence ◽

Labor Market Participation ◽

Market Participation ◽

Before And After ◽

Part Time

Download Full-text

Shift work and sickness absence at a Norwegian hospital: a longitudinal multilevel study

Occupational and Environmental Medicine ◽

10.1136/oemed-2019-106240 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 77 (8) ◽

pp. 555-563

Author(s):

Vilde Hoff Bernstrøm ◽

Inge Houkes

Keyword(s):

Sickness Absence ◽

Shift Work ◽

Parental Status ◽

Short Term ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Shift Schedules ◽

The Individual ◽

The Relationship ◽

Night Shifts

ObjectiveShift work is known to be related to several negative health consequences and sickness absence. Research results regarding the relationship between types of shift schedules and sickness absence and whether and how individual factors moderate this relationship, are mixed though. The present paper aims to provide more insight in these relationships.MethodsWe used registry data from a large Norwegian hospital gathered for the years 2012–2016, for >14 000 employees. With random effects at the individual and unit levels, we analysed the relationship between shift schedule worked and sickness absence in the same year.ResultsThe results showed increased risk of short-term sickness absence for two-shift and three-shift rotations, as well as fixed night shifts compared with fixed-day shifts. We also found an increased number of absence periods for two-shift rotations without nights and three-shift rotations. Results for long-term sickness absence were mixed, with increased odds for two-shift rotations without nights, but reduced odds for three-shift rotations. We found partial support for a moderating influence of age, gender and parental status.ConclusionsThere is a clear relationship between working shifts and increased risk of short-term sickness absence. The relationship persists across gender, age group and parental status. The relationship between shift work and long-term sickness absence appears to be schedule and population specific. These findings may have implications for HR policies and the organisation of shift work in healthcare organisations.

Download Full-text

Poor work ability increases sickness absence over 10 years

Occupational Medicine ◽

10.1093/occmed/kqz083 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 69 (5) ◽

pp. 359-365

Author(s):

L Palmlöf ◽

E Skillgate ◽

M Talbäck ◽

M Josephson ◽

E Vingård ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sickness Absence ◽

Work Ability ◽

Age Groups ◽

Physical Work ◽

Age Group ◽

Mental Work ◽

The Public ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Physical Work Ability

AbstractBackgroundLittle is known about the predictive value of single items from the work ability index (WAI) on the risk of sickness absence over several years, and whether such risk varies across age groups.AimsThe aim of the study was to investigate whether poor self-perceived physical and mental work ability among employees in the public sector are associated with long-term sickness absence over a 10-year period.MethodsThe study was based on a prospective cohort of employees within the public sector in Sweden reporting ‘good health for working’. Baseline information was collected with questionnaires from 2000 to 2003. Poor physical and mental work ability in relation to work demands were assessed with two items from the WAI. The outcome was the number of years of long-term sickness absence between 2003 and 2012. Long-term sickness absence was defined as ≥28 days of sickness and this information was retrieved from Swedish National Registers. Crude and adjusted incidence rate ratios were calculated with analyses stratified by age.ResultsCompared with those reporting very good physical work ability, employees reporting any lower grade of physical work ability had a higher risk of long-term sickness absence across all age strata, with higher risk estimates in the highest age groups and 6-fold increased risk in the oldest age group. Similar results were found for mental work ability with an almost 4-fold increased risk in the highest age group.ConclusionsSelf-reported physical and mental poor work ability are associated with long-term sickness absence during the subsequent 10 years. The risk increases with age.

Download Full-text

Organizational change and the risk of sickness absence: a longitudinal multilevel analysis of organizational unit-level change in hospitals

BMC Health Services Research ◽

10.1186/s12913-019-4745-2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anniken Grønstad ◽

Lars Erik Kjekshus ◽

Trond Tjerbo ◽

Vilde Hoff Bernstrøm

Keyword(s):

Organizational Change ◽

Sickness Absence ◽

Stages Of Change ◽

Unit Level ◽

Hospital Employees ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Change Characteristics ◽

Study Population ◽

Types Of Change

Abstract Background Organizational change is often associated with reduced employee health and increased sickness absence. However, most studies in the field accentuate major organizational change and often do not distinguish between and compare types of change. The aim of this study was to examine the different relationships between six unit-level changes (upsizing, downsizing, merger, spin-off, outsourcing and insourcing) and sickness absence among hospital employees. Methods The study population included employees working in a large Norwegian hospital (n = 26,252). Data on unit-level changes and employee sickness absence were retrieved from objective hospital registers for the period January 2011 to December 2016. The odds of entering short- (< = 8 days) and long-term (> = 9 days) sickness absence for each individual employee were estimated in a longitudinal multilevel random effects logistic regression model. Results Unit-level organizational change was associated with both increasing and decreasing odds of short-term sickness absence compared to stability, but the direction depended on the type and stages of change. The odds of long-term sickness absence significantly decreased in relation to unit-level upsizing and unit-level outsourcing. Conclusions The results from this study suggested that certain types of change, such as unit-level downsizing, may produce greater strain and concerns among employees, possibly contributing to an increased risk of sickness absence at certain stages of the change. By contrast, changes such as unit-level insourcing and unit-level upsizing were related to decreased odds of sickness absence, possibly due to positive change characteristics.

Download Full-text