Trends in long‐term sickness absence in Sweden 1992–2008: the role of economic conditions, legislation, demography, work environment and alcohol consumption

Abstract

Lidwall U, Marklund S. Trends in long-term sickness absence in Sweden 1992–2008: the role of economic conditions, legislation, demography, work environment and alcohol consumption Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 167©179 © 2010 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. In Sweden, absence from work because of illness or injury has fluctuated considerably over time. This study aimed to identify potentially important factors behind variations in long-term sickness absence. Aggregated data were used to assess factors correlated with the number of ongoing cases of sickness absence lasting more than 59 days. Trends were analysed using statistics from national social insurance records, labour force surveys and other official statistics. Although specific changes in the degree of generosity in the sickness insurance scheme were important in some cases, the results showed no consistent associations for the study period 1992–2008. Men were generally more sensitive to macroeconomic factors than women. Furthermore, compared with earlier findings, workforce composition had less impact on variations in long-term sickness absence. Notably, public health indicators such as alcohol sales and working conditions were clearly related to long-term sick leave during the period under investigation.