Objectives-To compare sickness absence among diabetic and non-diabetic employees. Methods-A cross sectional case-control study was conducted in a random sample of 400 diabetic employees 21-50 years old from Ljubljana that compared their sickness absence in the year 1996 with sickness absence of non-diabetic employees matched by sex, age, and occupation. Sickness absence was compared in total and also in subgroups formed by sex, age, occupation, and disability. Nonparametric statistics were used ( 2 test, Wilcoxon matched pairs test).Results-The randomised sample consisted of 61.2% of men (245) and 38.8% of women (155) with a mean age of 42.5 years. Unskilled workers made up 30.2% of employees, and less than 16.4% were highly educated. Among diabetic employees there were 7.0% disabled and among non-diabetic employees 2.0%. The mean frequency of sickness absences of diabetic employees was 0.89 times in the year 1996 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.70 to 1.08), and of non-diabetic employees 0.56 times (95% CI 0.47 to 0.65), p=0.01. The mean total duration of sickness absence of diabetic employees was 31.71 days (95% CI 24.86 to 38.57), of non-diabetic employees 16.57 days (95% CI 11.72 to 21.42), p<0.01. DiVerences were also found in subgroups but the size of subgroups was not suYcient to detect significant diVerences. Conclusions-The study confirmed that diabetes aVects the ability to work. Appropriate work and good control of the disease are important to prevent long term complications. (Occup Environ Med 2001;58:432-436)

Background and objectives: Presenteeism is a relatively new phenomenon that people, despite complaints and ill health that should prompt them to rest and take sick leave, go to work in any case. The highest sickness presence is largely to be found in the care and welfare and educational sectors. The aim of the study is to investigate the relations between different factors and sickness presence among health care professionals. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the largest hospital in Slovenia involving 5865 health care professionals employed at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana in the period between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010. Logistic regression methods were used to assess the associations between risk factors and their interactions and sickness presence. Results: Besides high odds for sickness presence in multivariate modelling for acute (OR = 359.7; 95%CI = 89.1–1452.8) and chronic disease (OR = 722.5; 95%CI = 178.5–2924.5) the highest odds were calculated for poor self-related health (OR = 3.0; 95%CI = 1.9–4.8), no possibility of replacement (OR = 1.9; 95%CI = 1.5–2.3), sickness absence > two times a year (OR = 1.6; 95%CI = 1.2–2.1), disabled workers (OR = 1.6; 95%CI = 1.0–2.5), and lower salary when on sick leave (OR = 1.5; 95%CI = 120–1.9). Risk factors interactions were not found to be associated with sickness presence among health care workers. Conclusions: The pre-requisite for higher sickness presence is workers’ bad health. The results indicate that sickness presence was associated with psycho social risk factors at work and their economic consequences. Continued sickness presence might have negative rather than positive consequences on work and health care professionals’ health in the future. Sickness presence needs to be taken into account for health care organizers.

Background: Insomnia is the perception of inadequate, insufficient or non-restorative sleep. Of all sleep-related disorders, insomnia is the most common. It is important to remember that the sleep–wake cycle also plays a central role in the genesis of anxiety and depression. The aim of our study is to evaluate the association between sleep disturbances and anxiety and depression in a group of workers of both sexes who perform night shift work. Methods: Information on sleep disorders was collected by administering the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) questionnaire. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Chi-square test to assess whether there were any differences between sex for those who were healthy or who were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. Results: The results showed that there was a good percentage of subjects with insomnia problems, impairing normal daily activities and promoting the onset of fatigue, daytime sleepiness, cognitive performance deficits and mood disorders. Conclusion: We highlighted how anxious and depressive anxiety disorders are more pronounced in people who suffer from altered sleep–wake rhythms. Further research in this direction could prove to be fundamental for understanding the genesis of the onset of other disorders as well.

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ObjectivesThe aim of the article is to investigate the differences in sickness present and non-sickness present in the group of disabled health care professionals.MethodsData were gathered from all disabled health care professionals suffering from invalidity of category II or III who were identified in the research among all health care professionals at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana and who were employed there in the period between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010. Each employee obtained a questionnaire composed of three standardized international questionnaires.ResultsThere were 248 disabled workers of the II. and III. category of invalidity among the participants. Disabled sickness present reported to have more chronic diseases than disabled non-sickness present (OR = 57.0; 95% CI = 24.4–133.2), lower salary when on sick leave (OR = 13.1; 95% CI = 5.7–30.2) and poor self-rated health (OR = 5.8; 95% CI = 2.7–12.3).ConclusionsThe prerequisite for sickness presence among disabled workers is their chronic bad health. It is also formally recognized with the degree of disability. Economic factors are among the most important to direct disabled workers towards sickness presence. The results indicate that workplaces are not adapted to disabled workers in regard to their limitations.