Diabetes Mellitus in Middle-aged People Is Associated with Increased Sick Leave: The BELSTRESS Study

Abstract

In a prospective study of the association between self-reported diabetes mellitus and sick leave from work, 21,149 men and women, aged 35-59 years, participated. Prevalence of diabetes was obtained by questionnaire. Sick leave was prospectively obtained from departments of human resources in the year after the baseline survey. Outcome variables related to duration of sick leave, repetitive absences, and long absences of at least seven consecutive days. In gender-specific multivariate analyses the relation between diabetes and sick leave was studied independent of age, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol intake, education, job title, and smoking habit. Prevalence rates of self reported diabetes were 2.8% and 2.2% in men and women, respectively. For each outcome variable a significant association between diabetes and sick leave was observed. Significant associations were found between diabetes and duration of sick leave and repetitive absences in men. In women a similar trend was observed for duration, and a significant association was found for repetitive absences.

Impact of diabetes mellitus onset on sickness absence from work – a 15‐year follow‐up of the GAZEL Occupational Cohort Study

“…Consistent with previous reports [3][4][5][6][7], our study provides evidence that diabetes is associated with an increase in absence owing to sickness once the disease has been diagnosed. In addition, our findings suggest that this increase predates diabetes diagnosis, as far back as 5-10 years before diagnosis.…”

Joint association of multimorbidity and work ability with risk of long-term sickness absence: a prospective cohort study with register follow-up

“…In the present study, these diseases were present in <5% of the workers, but they did not influence the risk estimates for LTSA significantly (table 3). Previous studies have reported increased sickness absence rates in people with diabetes compared with diabetes-free subjects (38,39), and CVD has been shown to be responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other condition (40). It could be speculated, that the results of the present study are influenced by a healthy workers effect, suggesting that those with a severe CVD or diabetes might already have left the labor market or shifted to a job with a better match between work demands and individual capacity.…”

Diabetes Associated With Early Labor-Force Exit: A Comparison Of Sixteen High-Income Countries

“…[27][28][29] Our findings show that workers with diabetes leave the labor force prematurely, which has the potential to impose additional costs on employers, including those costs associated with the recruitment and training of new workers.…”

“…All of these health effects might limit workers' functioning and have consequences for career progression; workplace discrimination might also have an impact. 26 Other research has shown that diabetes has a negative effect on workplace functionality, 7 rates of absenteeism, 27 and work productivity. Health might also influence retirement decisions.…”