Frequent short sickness absence, occupational health service utilisation and long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders among young employees

Harkko, Jaakko; Nordquist, Hilla; Pietiläinen, Olli; Piha, Kustaa; Mänty, Minna; Lallukka, Tea; Rahkonen, Ossi; Kouvonen, Anne

doi:10.1007/s00420-021-01728-5

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Different rates of sickness absence (SA) among those employed in private and public sectors have been previously reported in several countries 1 – 3 . However, knowledge is still scarce on rates of SA among young employees in private and public sectors, a group of individuals where SA due to mental disorders is most common both in Sweden and other Nordic countries 4 – 9 . Understanding factors contributing to SA differences between young adults employed in private and public sectors may help to identify factors affecting future SA as well as promoting working force participation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sickness absence among young employees in private and public sectors with a history of depression and anxiety

Narusyte

Ropponen

Wang

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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The aim was to investigate occurrence and duration of sickness absence (SA) among young employees with previous depression/anxiety in private and public sectors. This population-based prospective study included 11,519 Swedish twin individuals of age 19–29 years that were followed regarding SA during 2006–2016. Data on previous depression/anxiety came from two screening surveys in 2005. Data on SA and employment sector were received from national registries. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used, also controlling for familial factors. Proportion of employees with SA was significantly higher among those with, as compared to those without, previous depression/anxiety, regardless the employment sector. Individuals with previous depression/anxiety had increased risk for future SA, in both private (OR 2.25, 95% CI 1.90–2.66) and public sectors (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.73–2.54). Familial factors played a role in the association among employees in the private sector. A higher proportion of long-term SA was observed among employees with previous depression/anxiety in the private as compared to the public sector. To conclude, previous depression/anxiety tends to increase risk for SA among young employees in both employment sectors, whereas long-term SA seemed to be more prevalent among those in the private as compared to the public sector.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sickness absence among young employees in private and public sectors with a history of depression and anxiety

Narusyte

Ropponen

Wang

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…Separating long-term SA from total SA enables distinguishing work absenteeism due to medically verified illness which is strongly linked to future disability retirement [ 20 ]. As part of the total SA data, we considered short-term SA spells, which are common, have financial implications, and confer a higher risk of long-term SA [ 21 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Diagnosis-specific Finnish national register data exists for long-term SA, which is strongly linked to later disability retirement [ 20 ]. Moreover, frequent shorter SA spells are associated with long-term SA due to mental disorders among younger employees [ 21 ]. Thus, the total SA burden is also relevant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Separate and joint associations of chronic pain, multisite pain and mental health with sickness absence among younger employees: a register based longitudinal study

et al. 2023

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Background Pain conditions and poorer mental health are associated with work disability. However, few studies have examined the association of concurrent pain and poorer mental health with sickness absence among younger employees. We examined separate and joint associations of chronic pain, multisite pain, and mental health with total and long-term all-cause sickness absence days among younger Finnish municipal employees. Methods The Young Helsinki Health-study data were collected in 2017 from 19–39-year-old employees of the City of Helsinki, Finland. Chronic (≥ 3 months) and multisite (≥ 2 body sites) pain and mental health (RAND-36 emotional wellbeing subscale dichotomized by median score) were self-reported (n = 3911). Chronic pain, multisite pain and mental health were analyzed separately and combined. Register data on total (≥ 1 workdays) and long-term (≥ 11 workdays) sickness absence days during the following year were obtained. Negative binomial regression analyses were performed with sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors as confounders. Gender interaction and synergistic indices were examined. Results Chronic multisite pain was associated with long-term sickness absence days (rate ratio [RR] 2.51, 95% CI 1.17–5.42). Chronic pain (RR 5.04, 95% CI 2.14–11.87) and multisite pain (RR 4.88, 95% CI 2.30–10.33) were associated with long-term sickness absence days among employees with poorer mental health. There was a synergistic interaction between gender and multisite pain for total sickness absence days (synergy index 1.80, 95% CI 1.27–2.54), with stronger associations among women. Conclusions Chronic and multisite pain are associated with long-term sickness absence among younger employees, particularly among women and employees with concurrent poorer mental health. Consideration of this knowledge at workplaces and in healthcare could help to identify and support employees at increased risk of later sickness absence.

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“…Short-term SA (1–14 days) is mainly considered to be absence caused by minor infectious diseases and indolent conditions. 9 Contrary to this, studies on municipal employees have identified that earlier short-term SA precedes long-term SA 10 , 11 and permanent work disability. 12 It has also been proposed as a coping behaviour to deal with work-related strain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…We modelled short-term SA using spells instead of cumulative short-term SA days, since previous research suggests that work disability is initially marked by recurring short-term SA spells. 10 , 11 , 24 Long-term SA days per year were transformed to account for months due to analytical purposes as follows: 0–13 days = 0 months, 14–29 days = 1 month, 30–59 days = 2 months, etc., and 12 months = 330 or more SA days.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual trajectories of short-term and long-term sickness absence and their social- and health-related determinants among women in the public sector

Suur-Uski,

Fagerlund,

Granroth-Wilding

et al. 2024

European Journal of Public Health

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Background Short- and long-term sickness absence (SA) vary in their determinants. We examined short- and long-term SA contemporaneously as two interconnected phenomena to characterize their temporal development, and to identify employees with increasing SA at an early stage. Methods We extracted 46- to 55-year-old employed women from the Helsinki Health Study occupational cohort during 2000–17 (N = 3206) and examined the development of short- (1–14 days) and long-term (>14 days) SA using group-based dual trajectory modelling. In addition, we investigated the associations of social-, work- and health-related factors with trajectory group membership. Results For short-term SA, we selected a three-group solution: ‘no short-term SA’ (50%), ‘low frequency short-term SA’ (40%), and ‘high frequency short-term SA’ (10%) (7 spells/year). For long-term SA, we also selected three trajectory groups: ‘no long-term SA’ (65%), ‘low long-term SA’ (27%), and ‘high long-term SA’ (8%). No SA in the short-term SA model, indicated a high probability of no SA in the long-term model and vice versa. The developmental pattern was far less certain if participant was assigned to a trajectory of high SA in either one of the models (short- or long-term SA model). Low occupational class and poor health behaviours were associated with the trajectory groups with more SA. Conclusion SA does not increase with age among most employees. If either SA rate was high, the developmental patterns were heterogenous. Employers’ attention to health behaviours might aid in reducing both short- and long-term SA.

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Frequent short sickness absence, occupational health service utilisation and long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders among young employees

Cited by 7 publications

References 30 publications

Sickness absence among young employees in private and public sectors with a history of depression and anxiety

Sickness absence among young employees in private and public sectors with a history of depression and anxiety

Separate and joint associations of chronic pain, multisite pain and mental health with sickness absence among younger employees: a register based longitudinal study

Dual trajectories of short-term and long-term sickness absence and their social- and health-related determinants among women in the public sector

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