Age, occupational class and sickness absence during pregnancy: a retrospective analysis study of the Norwegian population registry

Abstract

ObjectiveWestern women increasingly delay having children to advance their career, and pregnancy is considered to be riskier among older women. In Norway, this development surprisingly coincides with increased sickness absence among young pregnant women, rather than their older counterparts. This paper tests the hypothesis that young pregnant women have a higher number of sick days because this age group includes a higher proportion of working class women, who are more prone to sickness absence.DesignA zero-inflated Poisson regression was conducted on the Norwegian population registry.ParticipantsAll pregnant employees giving birth in 2004–2008 were included in the study. A total number of 216 541 pregnancies were observed among 180 483 women.Outcome measureNumber of sick days.ResultsAlthough the association between age and number of sick days was U-shaped, pregnant women in their early 20s had a higher number of sick days than those in their mid-40s. This was particularly the case for pregnant women with previous births. In this group, 20-year-olds had 12.6 more sick days than 45-year-olds; this age difference was reduced to 6.3 after control for class. Among women undergoing their first pregnancy, 20-year-olds initially had 1.2 more sick days than 45-year-olds, but control for class altered this age difference. After control for class, 45-year-old first-time pregnant women had 2.9 more sick days than 20-year-olds with corresponding characteristics.ConclusionsThe negative association between age and sickness absence was partly due to younger age groups including more working class women, who were more prone to sickness absence. Young pregnant women's needs for job adjustments should not be underestimated.

Descriptive study of sickness absence in Spanish regions in 2018: database study

“… 21 22 The incidence increases with age, which is in agreement with most studies at the national 4 23 and international 7 18 21–24 level, with higher intensity according to the number of affiliates per sex and age range ( table 2 ). Among the multiple explanations for this fact, it is worth highlighting the following: the double work women usually carry out, that is, paid work and domestic work, with greater responsibilities for the family (traditional gender role), 22 24 the different behaviour of women toward disease, 22 their greater morbidity related to maternity 25 and more fragile health, 26 as well as their lower commitment to work. 22 Other authors highlight the occupational differences, which could explain more than half of the gender differences, 24 as well as the stress level.…”

The Relationship between Maternal Employment Status and Pregnancy Outcomes

“…However, the relationship between the number of sick leave days and age reversed when type of job was controlled and older women took more days off due to sickness. Parity is also an important factor, and sickness days are high in women with multiple parities from any age group ( Ariansen, 2014 ; Salihu, Myers, & August, 2012 ).…”

Do birthrates contribute to sickness absence differences in women? A cohort study in Catalonia, Spain, 2012-2014

“…An important strength of this study is that it is founded in the linkage of two administrative registries, allowing for a large sample size and the calculation of incidence rates based on exact person-years. This represents one of the few studies examining SA trends by medical diagnosis in women in Southern Europe [ 24 , 25 ], which is characterized by a relatively weak welfare state in comparison to other Northern European countries, where most research on SA in pregnancy has been performed [ 35 ]. Identifying the diagnoses that contribute most to the overall effect of increased risk of SA in young-reproductive women can help inform allocation of healthcare resources, mitigation strategies in the workplace, and policy aimed to guard workers’ health.…”

“…as is required by law. For the independent variable, women were assigned to one of three age categories based on their age as of December 31, 2012, and following birthrates from Catalonia during the study period: early-reproductive age (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34), middle-reproductive age (35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44), and late-reproductive age (45-54). In Catalonia, between 2012 and 2014, more than 97% of the pregnancies corresponded to women with ages between 20 and 44.…”

“…genitourinary, and other poorly-defined diseases [24]. Low back pain, nausea and vomiting, and pelvic girdle pain are some of the most common diseases during pregnancy, and contribute to much of the SA throughout this physiological state [24][25][26][27]. The significantly higher IR and IRR observed for early-reproductive and, to a lesser extent (IRR not significantly higher), middle-reproductive groups compared to the late-reproductive women in this cohort, suggests that reproductive age is an important predictor for SA episodes due to these symptoms, which are known to be frequent in pregnancy.…”