Sick at work--a risk factor for long-term sickness absence at a later date?

Abstract

Going to work ill repeatedly is associated with long-term sickness absence at a later date. For this reason, researchers and policy-makers should consider this phenomenon more carefully when planning future studies of sickness absence or when laying out new policies.

Sickness presenteeism in Norway and Sweden

“…Kristensen (1991) has argued that studying SP could enhance our understanding of SA because SP and SA are conclusions of the same decision process. Moreover, some studies have found that several episodes of SP during the previous year is a risk factor for future SA, and that SP can cause serious health problems at a later stage (Kivimäki et al, 2005;Bergström et al, 2009 , 1997;Rosvold & Bjertness, 2001;Lovell, 2004;Aronsson et al, 2000;Aronsson & Gustafsson, 2005;Elstad & Vabø, 2008;Hansen & Andersen, 2009;Agudelo-Suárez et al, 2010;Böckerman & Laukkanen, 2010;Hansen 2010). …”

“…This concept has been a subject of steadily increasing interest since it emerged in the 1990s, though the number of publications on the topic is clearly fewer than those focusing on sickness absence (SA) (Vingård et al, 2004;Hansen & Andersen, 2009;Böckerman & Laukkanen, 2010). Using survey data from a study conducted with more than 2500 workers in Norway and Sweden, this article describes the distribution of SP and discusses some important determinants for SP.…”

Risk of surgery for subacromial impingement syndrome in relation to neck-shoulder complaints and occupational biomechanical exposures: a longitudinal study

“…We hypothesized that neck-shoulder complaints and occupational biomechanical shoulder exposures would each increase the risk. Table 1 presents the original studies I-IX (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28) and their contribution to the MRD, which comprises 39 590 persons. A total of 265 persons participated in two studies, and one person participated in three; for these persons, we selected the questionnaire dataset that was most informative for the present study.…”

Consequences of sickness presence and sickness absence on health and work ability: A Swedish prospective cohort study

“…However, Westerlund et al [20] found no evidence that SP increased the risk of coronary heart disease over a two-year period. In a longitudinal investigation of a large random sample of the workforce in Denmark [21], it was noted that SP was related to longterm sickness absence. This was indicated by the observation that, after controlling for potential confounders, the risk of sick leave for more than two months was 74% higher among employees who had gone to work while ill more than six times in the year prior to the 18-month follow-up period.…”