Early Retirement Due to Permanent Disability in Relation to Smoking in Workers of the Construction Industry

Abstract

Little is known about the relation of cigarette smoking and early retirement due to permanent disability. We conducted a cohort study among 4796 construction workers aged 40 to 59 who underwent occupational health examinations in 1986-1988 in occupational health centers located in the southern region of Germany. They were followed up with respect to working status until July 1994. The effect of smoking on early retirement due to permanent disability was assessed using the Cox proportional hazard model. Overall, smoking prevalence at baseline was 52%. The relative rate (RR) for permanent disability was 1.3 (95% CI 1.0-1.8) for all current smokers, compared with never-smokers. A positive dose-response relationship between smoking and the rate of early retirement due to permanent disability was found after adjustment for covariates. RR ranged from 1.3 in persons who reported smoking 1-19 cigarettes a day to 1.6 in persons who reported smoking > or = 30 cigarettes a day (P value for trend = 0.02). These findings underline the need for comprehensive efforts at the workplace to reduce smoking and its negative consequences for the individual, as well as to limit the associated social burden for society.

Influence of illness and unhealthy behavior on health‐related early retirement in Korea: Results from a longitudinal study in Korea

“…In that cohort, smoking was negatively associated with lifetime income level and number of employment years. Some cohort studies have reported a positive doseresponse relationship between smoking and risk of ERdHP after controlling for covariates such as age, occupation, nationality, obesity, alcohol consumption, and accessibility to health care 27) . It is well known that 30 min or more of moderate- intense physical activity can prevent chronic disease including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, osteoporosis, and depression 28) .…”

The effect of cigarette smoking on musculoskeletal‐related disability

“…Among studies that investigate the effect of smoking in association with physical disability [Leigh, 1985;Pinsky et al, 1985Pinsky et al, , 1987Guralnik and Kaplan, 1989;Hubert and Fries, 1994;Rothenbacher et al, 1998] smoking's relatively small risks and modest dose-response relationship are largely consistent. Ours, however, is the only one to address disability subsequent to a musculoskeletal condition, per se, while the others typically do not stratify by underlying condition.…”

“…Musculoskeletal disorders also result in various levels of disability, ranging from limitations in activities of daily living [Deyo and Diehl, 1988;Williams et al, 1998] to an inability to return to work [MacKenzie et al, 1987;Volinn et al, 1991;Lancourt and Kettelhut, 1992;Hazard et al, 1996;MacKenzie et al, 1998], with significant ramifications for family members and coworkers alike. Several studies have examined the relationship of smoking and the development of work-related disability for a variety of conditions [Leigh, 1985;Mäkelä et al, 1993;Hubert and Fries, 1994;Eriksen et al, 1998;Rothenbacher et al, 1998;Feuerstein et al, 1999], but little is known regarding its impact following the occurrence of a musculoskeletal condition. Recognizing work-related disability to be a multifactoral development [Cats-Baril and Frymoyer, 1991;Feuerstein and Thebarge, 1991;Bongers et al, 1993;Katz et al, 1997], it is neither appropriate nor possible to identify a single factor as the source of such a complex process as the development of disability.…”

The Impact of Health Behaviour on Long Term Sickness Absence: Results from DWECS/DREAM

“…It might be possible that a number of ex-smokers stopped smoking due to health problems. Earlier studies have reported a higher risk of long-term absence and disability among ex-smokers compared to non-smokers 9,10) . The increased risk was insignificant on a 95% level in both studies 9,10) .…”

“…Earlier studies have reported a higher risk of long-term absence and disability among ex-smokers compared to non-smokers 9,10) . The increased risk was insignificant on a 95% level in both studies 9,10) . Advice and counselling regarding smoking is often part of outpatient treatment of for example patients with myocardial infarction, and studies have shown such interventions to profoundly increase smoking cessation rates among MI patients 11) .…”