Short sickness absence and subsequent sickness absence due to mental disorders - a follow-up study among municipal employees

Hilla Sumanen,Olli Pietiläinen,Eero Lahelma,Ossi Rahkonen

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3951-7

Hilla Sumanen, Olli Pietiläinen + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3951-7

Copy DOI

Abstract

BackgroundMental disorders are common diagnostic causes for longer sickness absence and disability retirement in OECD-countries. Short sickness absence spells are also common, and neither trivial for health and work ability. We studied how prior short sickness absence spells and days are associated with subsequent longer sickness absence due to mental disorders in two age-groups of municipal employees during a 2-, 5- and 9-year follow-up.MethodsThe analyses covered 20–34 and 35–49-year-old employees of the City of Helsinki in 2004. Those with prior ≥14 day sickness absence in 2002, 2003 or 2004 were excluded. Women and men were pooled together. Short, 1–13-day sickness absence spells and days were calculated per the actual time of employment during 2004. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the subsequent long (≥14 days) sickness absence due to mental disorders during three follow-ups.ResultsThe risk for long sickness absence due to mental disorders increased with increasing amount of short sickness absence spells and days. 3 or more short sickness absence spells and 8–14 sickness absence days from short spells in 2004 were strongly associated with subsequent long sickness absence in all three follow-ups. The associations were strongest for the 2-year follow-up; the younger employees tended to have higher risks than the older ones.ConclusionsThree spells or 8 days of short sickness absence per year constitutes a high risk for subsequent long sickness absence due to mental disorders and preventive measures should be considered.

Highlights

Mental disorders are common diagnostic causes for longer sickness absence and disability retirement in OECD-countries
The younger age-group differed from the older group: a smaller proportion had a maximum of 7 absence days, and a larger proportion had over two weeks long absence
Logistic regression analysis, adjusted for gender (Model 1), showed that 1 short, i.e., 1–13 day sickness absence spell in a working-year was associated with subsequent long sickness absence due to mental disorders only among 20–34-year-old employees during 2- and 5year follow-ups (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Mental disorders are common diagnostic causes for longer sickness absence and disability retirement in OECD-countries. Short sickness absence spells are common, and neither trivial for health and work ability. Mental disorders contribute increasingly to sickness absence from work in OECD countries. In Finland, mental disorders are the most common diagnostic cause for long sickness absence and disability retirement alongside with musculoskeletal disorders [1, 2]. Mental disorders typically take time to develop and show early symptoms, and short sickness absence may be an indicator of such underlying disease. In this study short sickness absence refers to spells lasting 1–13 days and long to ≥14 days, but the definitions vary in previous studies. According to our previous study, especially young employees have a greater amount of 1–14 days sickness absence spells than older employees, who in turn have

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion