Health in the working-age population: Health in Sweden: The National Public Health Report 2012. Chapter 4

Abstract

Summary The present chapter deals with health in the working-age population (aged 25–64). The working age span covers a substantial portion of people’s lives, and morbidity rates vary considerably at the beginning and end of the age range. In this age group, for example, 10–20 times more people die at the age of 64 than at the age of 25. Since the beginning of the 1950s accidents, followed by suicide, have been the leading cause of death among men in the 25–44 age group, while cancer has been the most common cause of death among women in the same age group. For a long time, cardiovascular diseases were the most common cause of death among men aged 45– 64. However cardiovascular mortality has declined significantly and cancer is now an equally common cause of death. Since 1952, cancer has been the leading cause of death among women aged 45–64, as it has been among younger women. More working-age women than men die of cancer. This is because breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer often occur in women before retirement age. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women. However; although breast cancer morbidity is rising, mortality has shown a slight decline. Overall, significantly more working-age men than women die, due to the higher risk among men of death from cardiovascular diseases, in accidents, from suicide and from alcohol-related causes. Mortality from these causes has declined significantly over the past 25 years, along with a corresponding decline in gender disparities in mortality. Impaired mental wellbeing became increasingly prevalent in the 1990s. The deterioration in mental wellbeing was more pronounced among younger people than older people. The percentage of women aged 25–44 who suffer from anxiousness, nervousness, and anxiety (angst) has doubled since the end of the 1980s, and these problems are now more common than in the 45–64 age group, which was not the case in the 1980s. In recent years, however, the trend has reversed, and mental wellbeing appears to be improving among women and men in both age groups. Mental ill-health and pain are the most common causes of reduced work capacity. Reduced work capacity due to illness has also become more prevalent among women in all age groups since the 1980s. The same adverse trend has also been observed in men in the younger age groups, although work capacity has improved among men aged 55–64. Since the end of the 1990s, it has become more common for mental strain to cause work-related health issues.