Determinants of Sickness Absence and Return to Work Among Employees with Common Mental Disorders: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Purpose To present an overview of the existing evidence on prognostic factors of (recurrent) sickness absence (SA) and return to work (RTW) among workers with a common mental disorder (CMD). This scoping review provides information about determinants for SA and RTW, which could be used to develop better interventions aimed at the prevention of SA and promotion of RTW among workers with a CMD. Methods Relevant articles were identified in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, and SINGLE up to October 2016. In order to be included, studies should provide insight into prognostic factors of SA or RTW of workers with a CMD. We classified all factors according to the domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Results Our searches identified 2447 possible relevant articles, of which 71 were included for data extraction. There is consistent evidence in ≥3 studies that previous episodes of CMD, higher symptom severity, previous absenteeism, co-morbidity, high job demands, low job control, high job strain, female gender, lower educational level, smoking behavior, and low perceived general health are predictors of SA in people with CMDs. Earlier RTW is consistently predicted by lower symptom severity, having no previous absenteeism, younger age, and positive expectations concerning sick-leave duration or RTW. Conclusions The amount of research on determinants for SA and RTW in workers with CMD has increased dramatically in recent years, although most studies are from the Netherlands and Scandinavia. There are some research gaps identified in this scoping review that need further attention in primary and secondary studies. Based on the summary of the evidence, we provide guidance for policy, practice and research.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10926-017-9730-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Structured psychiatric diagnoses and self-rated symptoms in primary care patients on sick leave for common mental disorders: a clinical study

“…In all groups, participants who scored high on KEDS and/or MADRS-S had longer net sick leave than those who had low scores on these instruments. The same pattern has been found in previous studies (1,16,29,34,35,53), which suggests that symptom severity may be the factor with the greatest influence on length of sick leave.…”

“…In summary, some have found an association between specific psychiatric diagnoses such as depression (33) and anxiety (1) and long-term sick leave. Others have found that the severity of symptoms of anxiety and distress is the most important factor associated with longer sick leave (1,16,29,34,35). This study provides an opportunity to examine the results of independent structured psychiatric interviews and self-rated symptom severity assessments in a population of patients on sick leave for common mental disorders.…”

Mental Health in Young Healthcare and Social Work Professionals: Associations with Psychosocial Work Environment Factors

“…For young professional employees, aspects of the psychosocial work environment seem to be of importance for their mental health. Several studies and reviews have found that that high-strain jobs, characterized by low employee control and high demands, are associated with lower well-being and higher stress levels [18][19][20][21][22][23] and also associated with sick leave from work [24][25][26][27][28]. However, employees' attitudes towards the job is also of importance for their well-being.…”

Time pressure and sleep problems due to thoughts about work as risk factors for future sickness absence

“…The reasons underlying SA are, apart from disease or injury, likely to involve a combination of different factors including stress and strain in the workplace and poor recovery. Previous research has identified and investigated various risk factors for SA, such as being a woman, older age, high job demands, and a low socioeconomic status (Allebeck and Mastekaasa 2004; Mather et al 2015; Vries de et al 2017). So far, fewer studies have investigated time pressure, including overtime work, as well as sleep disturbances, despite these having the potential of being important risk factors for SA.…”