Longitudinal Occupational Survey Of Health Research Articles

Commuting distance and behavior-related health: A longitudinal study

Health benefits of active commuting and short commuting time are well-documented; however, limited evidence exists on the effects of commuting distance. We examined longitudinal associations between commuting distance and behavior-related health. Participants were from four survey waves of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018). Analytical sample included 11,023 individuals and 21,769 observations. Random effects method used binomial logistic regression with generalized estimating equations. The outcomes were self-reported physical inactivity, overweight, smoking, problem drinking, and disturbed sleep. Models were adjusted for age, sex, occupational position, civil status, chronic disease, work strain, number of children under 12, and home/workplace neighborhood socioeconomic status. Using continuous measure, long commuting distance was associated with a higher odds of physical inactivity (OR 1.06; 95% CI, 1.04–1.09 per doubling of distance), overweight (OR 1.02; 95% CI, 1.00–1.04), and disturbed sleep (OR 1.03; 95% CI, 1.00–1.05) in fully adjusted models. Using categorized measure, individuals who commuted longer distance had a higher odds of physical inactivity compared to those with the shortest commute (3.1 km - <7.9 km vs. <3.1 km: OR 1.15; 95% CI, 1.04–1.28 and 7.9 km - <20 km vs. <3.1 km: OR 1.18; 95% CI, 1.06–1.32, fully adjusted model). Such dose-response associations were not observed for overweight or disturbed sleep. Our results suggest short commuting distance may be beneficial for behavior-related health.

The relationship between onset of workplace violence and onset of sleep disturbances in the Swedish working population

The study investigated the association between onset of workplace violence and onset of sleep disturbances. We used self-reported data from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) collected in 2014, 2016, and 2018. A two-wave design was based on participants who had no exposure to workplace violence or sleep disturbances at baseline (n=6,928). A three-wave design was based on participants who in addition were unexposed to sleep disturbances in the second wave (n=6,150). Four items of the Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire were used to measure sleep disturbances and one question was used to measure the occurrence of workplace violence or threats of violence. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. In the two-wave approach, onset of workplace violence was associated with onset of sleep disturbances after adjustment for sex, age, occupational position, education, and civil status (adjusted odds ratio 1.41, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.96). The association was no longer statistically significant after further adjustment for night/evening work, demands, control, and social support at work. In the three-wave approach, results were only suggestive of an association between onset of workplace violence and subsequent onset of sleep disturbances after adjustment for sex, age, occupational position, education, and civil status. Onset of frequent exposure to workplace violence was associated with subsequent onset of sleep disturbances in the adjusted analyses, but these analyses were based on few individuals (13 exposed versus 5,907 unexposed). The results did not conclusively demonstrate that onset of workplace violence predicts development of sleep disturbances. Further research could elucidate the role of other working conditions.

Home and Workplace Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Behavior-related Health: A Within-individual Analysis.

BackgroundThe influence of individual and home neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) on health-related behaviors have been widely studied, but the majority of these studies have neglected the possible impact of the workplace neighborhood SES.ObjectiveTo examine within-individual associations between home and work place neighborhood SES and health-related behaviors in employed individuals.MethodsWe used participants from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health who responded to a minimum of two surveys between 2012 and 2018. Data included 12,932 individuals with a total of 35,332 observations. We used fixed-effects analysis with conditional logistic regression to examine within-individual associations of home, workplace, as well as time-weighted home and workplace neighborhood SES index, with self-reported obesity, physical activity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, and disturbed sleep.ResultsAfter adjustment for covariates, participants were more likely to engage in risky alcohol consumption when they worked in a workplace that was located in the highest SES area compared to time when they worked in a workplace that was located in the lowest SES area (adjusted odds ratios 1.98; 95% confidence interval: 1.12 to 3.49). There was an indication of an increased risk of obesity when individuals worked in the highest compared to the time when they worked in the lowest neighborhood SES area (1.71; 1.02–2.87). No associations were observed for the other outcomes.ConclusionThese within-individual comparisons suggest that workplace neighborhood SES might have a role in health-related behaviors, particularly alcohol consumption.

The mediating effect of exhaustion in the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and turnover intentions: A 4-year longitudinal study from Sweden.

ObjectivesEarlier studies suggest that imbalance between effort and reward at work associates with exhaustion. Others have found that exhaustion increases turnover intentions; an important precursor of actual turnover that also associates with counterproductive work behaviors. Few, however, have studied the associations between effort‐reward imbalance (ERI) and employees’ intentions to leave their current employment, and whether exhaustion is underpinning that relationship. Here, we investigate the mediating role of exhaustion in the effort‐reward imbalance – turnover intentions relationship.MethodsData from three waves covering a time span of four years from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) were analysed using structural equation modeling. Cross‐lagged mediation analyses were conducted to estimate if associations from ERI to subsequent turnover intentions were mediated by exhaustion. Other causal directions (direct and reversed direct effects, reversed mediation) were also examined.ResultsA direct path from ERI T1 to turnover intentions T2 was found, but not from ERI T2 to turnover intentions T3. Additionally, results showed that ERI at time points T1/T2 associated significantly with exhaustion two years later (T2/T3). Also, exhaustion at T1 showed a small but statistically significant direct association with turnover intentions at T2 (no association was found between exhaustion T2 and turnover intentions T3). A small, but statistically significant indirect effect from ERI to turnover intentions was found (estimate 0.005; 95% CI 0.002‐0.010).ConclusionsProviding a good balance between effort and reward for workers is essential to protect employee health and help retain employees in the organization.

Interrelationships between job demands, low back pain and depression: A four-way decomposition analysis of direct and indirect effects of job demands through mediation and/or interaction

Psychosocial work stressors may lead to low back pain (LBP) through depressive symptoms or to depression through LBP. Depressive symptoms or LBP may also modify these associations. We examined prospective interrelationships between job demands, LBP and depressive symptoms. We used comparable data from three consecutive biennial surveys in 2010-2016, from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) and the Work Environment and Health in Denmark (WEHD) cohorts, broadly representative of the working populations in Sweden and Denmark. We conducted multivariate counterfactual based mediation analyses allowing for four-way decomposition of the total effect of job demands, on incident LBP (N=2813, 2701) and incident major depression (N=3707, 5496). The four components estimated direct and indirect effects through mediation and/or interaction. We observed no association between job demands and incident LBP four years later, but job demands was associated with later major depression (relative risks=1.88, 95% confidence interval=1.45-2.31 in SLOSH and 1.64, 1.18-2.11 in WEHD, adjusted for age, sex, panel (SLOSH data), education, cohabitation, physically strenuous work and chronic diseases. About 37% of the association was attributed to interaction between job demands and LBP in SLOSH. No interaction was found in WEHD. LBP partly mediated the relationship, by 14% in SLOSH and 2%, while statistically insignificant in WEHD. Possible limitations include lack of comparable data on disabling low back pain, different scales for depressive symptoms, misclassification and residual confounding. This suggests mainly a direct effect of job demands on major depression, or through other pathways than LBP.

Home and workplace neighborhood socioeconomic status and behavior-related health: a within-individual analysis

Background: Individuals’ health-related behaviors, important determinants of cardiovascular health, might be affected by social characteristics of residential and workplace neighborhoods. Although the influence of individual and home neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) on behavior-related health has been widely studied, majority of the studies have neglected the possible impact of workplace SES. Objective: To investigate associations between home and work neighborhood SES and behavior-related health in employed individuals. Methods: Participants were from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health with response to minimum of two surveys between 2012 and 2018. We had 13163 individuals with complete data on at least one exposure and covariates with total of 36925 observations. Neighborhood SES was determined as an index using mean income, education attainment, and unemployment rate within a 500 m buffer around home and workplace address. We used fixed effects method with conditional logistic regression to investigate longitudinal within-individual associations for home, workplace, and time weighted home and work neighborhood SES with self-reported obesity, physical activity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, and sleep problems. Age, marital status, occupational position, presence of children, chronic disease, depressive symptoms, and work strain were covariates.Results: Workers were more likely to consume alcohol excessively when their workplace was located in the highest SES area compared to time when their workplace was located in the lowest SES area (adjusted OR 1.98; 95% CI,1.12-3.49). Contrarily, higher SES of the home neighborhood was non-significantly associated with low alcohol consumption. Furthermore, there was an indication of an increased risk of obesity when individuals had their workplace in the highest compared to the lowest neighborhood SES (adjusted OR 1.71;1.02-2.87). No associations were observed for other outcomes.Conclusion: These within-individual comparisons suggest that workplace neighborhood SES may have a role in health-related behaviors, particularly alcohol consumption.

Informal Caregiving and Quality of Life Among Older Adults: Prospective Analyses from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH)

Providing unpaid informal care to someone who is ill or disabled is a common experience in later life. While a supportive and potentially rewarding role, informal care can become a time and emotionally demanding activity, which may hinder older adults’ quality of life. In a context of rising demand for informal carers, we investigated how caregiving states and transitions are linked to overall levels and changes in quality of life, and how the relationship varies according to care intensity and burden. We used fixed effects and change analyses to examine six-wave panel data (2008–2018) from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH, n = 5076; ages 50–74). The CASP-19 scale is used to assess both positive and negative aspects of older adults’ quality of life. Caregiving was related with lower levels of quality of life in a graded manner, with those providing more weekly hours and reporting greater burden experiencing larger declines. Two-year transitions corresponding to starting, ceasing and continuing care provision were associated with lower levels of quality of life, compared to continuously not caregiving. Starting and ceasing caregiving were associated with negative and positive changes in quality of life score, respectively, suggesting that cessation of care leads to improvements despite persistent lower overall levels of quality of life. Measures to reduce care burden or time spent providing informal care are likely to improve the quality of life of older people.

Home and workplace neighborhood SES and behavior-related health: a within-individual analysis

Abstract Background Although the influence of individual and home neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) on health-related behaviors has been widely studied, majority of the evidence is from cross-sectional studies. Moreover, studies on associations of workplace SES with health-related behaviors are almost non-existent. Objective To investigate associations between home and work neighborhood SES and behavior-related health in gainfully employed individuals. Methods Participants were from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health with response to minimum two surveys between 2012 and 2018. We had 13163 individuals with complete data on exposure and covariates with total of 36925 observations. Neighborhood SES was determined as an index using mean income, education attainment, and unemployment rate within a 500 m buffer around home and workplace address. We used fixed effects method with conditional logistic regression to investigate longitudinal within-individual associations for home, workplace and their weighted summary neighborhood SES with self-reported obesity, physical activity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, and sleep problems. We included age, marital status, individuals' occupational position, presence of children, chronic disease, depressive symptoms, and work strain as covariates. Results The workers were more likely to consume alcohol excessively when their workplace was located in the highest SES area compared to time when their workplace was located in the lowest SES area (adjusted odds ratio 1.98; 95% confidence interval 1.12-3.49). Contrarily, socioeconomic status of home neighborhood was observed to be associated with low alcohol consumption. We observed no associations for other behavior-related health outcomes. Conclusions These within-individual comparisons suggest that having workplace in a high SES area may be favorable for excessive alcohol consumption. Key messages Workplace in a high socioeconomic area may be favorable of excessive alcohol consumption, while such association were not observed for home neighborhood. Consideration of work neighborhood SES along with home neighborhood SES and individual variables can enhance our understanding of the influence of environments on health behaviors.

Workplace Violence and Long-term Sickness Absence: Assessment of the Potential Buffering Effect of Social Support in Two Occupational Cohort Studies.

We aimed to determine the effect of workplace violence on long-term sickness absence, and whether social support from supervisors and colleagues buffer this effect. Information on workplace violence and social support were derived from the Danish Work Environment Cohort Study in 2000, 2005, and 2010 and the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health in 2006 and 2008. Individual- and joint-effects on register-based long-term sickness absence were determined using logistic regression models for repeated measurements. Cohort-specific estimates were combined in random effect meta-analyses. Workplace violence and low social support were independently associated with a higher risk of long-term sickness absence, and we did not find evidence of an interaction. Exposure to workplace violence is a risk factor for long-term sickness absence while social support is associated with a lower risk of long-term sickness absence.

High-involvement work practices and conflict management procedures as moderators of the workplace bullying–wellbeing relationship

ABSTRACT Despite the serious consequences of exposure to workplace bullying for the wellbeing of individuals and functioning of organisations, few studies have investigated how organisational practices could reduce the negative impact of bullying on employee wellbeing. In the present study, we investigate the longitudinal association of exposure to workplace bullying with depressive symptoms and sleep problems, and whether high-involvement work practices (HIWP) and conflict management (CM) procedures moderate these associations. The data for the study were drawn from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). The final sample comprised 21,029 individuals with 45,678 person-observations from 4 waves. Longitudinal multilevel models (with study waves nested under individuals) showed that exposure to workplace bullying increased depressive symptoms and sleep problems. Furthermore, both HIWPs and CM procedures were moderators of the association between exposure to bullying and depressive symptoms and sleep problems. The results support previous findings, suggesting that workplace bullying has severe consequences for subsequent wellbeing. Moreover, it extends previous research by showing that organisational practices, such as high-involvement work practices and collaborative conflict management procedures, may act as organisational resources that buffer the negative effects of exposure to bullying on wellbeing.

Technostress operationalised as information and communication technology (ICT) demands among managers and other occupational groups – Results from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH)

Exposure to technostress operationalised as ICT demands is more prevalent in higher socioeconomic groups, but little is known about the exposure in different occupational groups considering industry and position. The aim of the present study was to explore the exposure to ICT demands in managers and other occupational groups. Cross-sectional self-reported data from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), collected in 2016 was used, including 13 572 respondents (1 241 ‘managers’, 12 331 ‘non-managers’). ICT demands based on a six-item Likert scale were analysed as the main measure. ‘Managers’ (varying industries and positions) in comparison with ‘non-managers’, including nine occupational groups separated by industry and education level, showed the highest prevalence (74.7%) of ICT demands. ‘Managers in health care, other community services and education’ showed the highest odds ratio (OR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) of ICT demands, in comparison with ‘non-managers’ (OR 4.64 [CI 3.26–6.61], and with ‘all other managers’ (OR 1.55 [CI 1.01–2.38]), after adjustment for sex, age, job strain, and social support. In conclusion, managers have increased odds of exposure to ICT demands, especially managers in health care, other community services and education. Targeted actions to improve the digitalised work environment among managers are warranted.

Psychosocial job strain and polypharmacy: a national cohort study.

Objectives:Psychosocial job strain has been associated with a range of adverse health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the association between psychosocial job strain and prospective risk of polypharmacy (the prescription of ≥5 medications) and to evaluate whether coping strategies can modify this risk.Methods:Cohort study of 9703 working adults [mean age 47.5 (SD 10.8) years; 54% female] who participated in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) at baseline in 2006 or 2008. Psychosocial job strain was represented by job demands and control, and measured by the Swedish version of the demand–control questionnaire. The outcome was incidence of polypharmacy over an eight-year follow-up period. Information on dispensed drugs were extracted from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association of job strain status with polypharmacy, adjusted for a range of confounders.Results:During the follow-up, 1409 people developed polypharmacy (incident rate: 20.6/1000 person-years). In comparison to workers with low-strain jobs (high control/low demands), those with high-strain jobs (low control/high demands) had a significantly higher risk of incident polypharmacy (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.04–1.89). The impact of high-strain jobs on developing polypharmacy remained among those with covert coping strategies (ie, directed inwards or towards others) but not among those with open coping strategies (ie, primarily directed toward the stressor).Conclusions:Workers in high-strain jobs may be at an increased risk of polypharmacy. Open coping strategies may reduce the negative impact of psychosocial job strain on risk of polypharmacy.

A Resourceful Work Environment Moderates the Relationship between Presenteeism and Health. A Study Using Repeated Measures in the Swedish Working Population.

The objective of this study was to investigate if the psychosocial work environment moderates the proposed negative impact of presenteeism on future general health. We expect that the negative impact of presenteeism on general health is weaker if the psychosocial work environment is resourceful, and more pronounced if the environment is stressful. Data were derived from the 2008–2018 biennial waves of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). The final analytic sample consisted of n = 15,779 individuals. We applied repeated measures regression analyses through generalized estimating equations (GEE). Results from the autoregressive GEE models showed statistically significant interaction terms between presenteeism and all four investigated moderators, i.e., job demands, job control, job support and job strain. The results indicate that the psychosocial work environment moderates the negative association between presenteeism and general health and illustrates a buffering effect of the psychosocial work environment. A possible explanation for these results may be that psychosocially resourceful work environments give room for adjustments in the work situation and facilitate recovery. The results also indicate that by investing the psychosocial work environment employers may be able to promote worker health as well as prevent reduced job performance due to presenteeism.

Psychosocial working characteristics before retirement and depressive symptoms across the retirement transition: a longitudinal latent class analysis.

Objectives:Retirement is a major life transition. However, previous evidence on its mental health effects has been inconclusive. Whether retirement is desirable or not may depend on pre-retirement work characteristics. We investigated trajectories of depressive symptoms across retirement and how a number of psychosocial working characteristics influenced these trajectories.Methods:We included 1735 respondents from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), retiring during 2008–2016 (mean retirement age 66 years). They had completed biennial questionnaires reporting job demands, decision authority, workplace social support, efforts, rewards, procedural justice and depressive symptoms. We applied group-based trajectory modelling to model trajectories of depressive symptoms across retirement. Multinomial logistic regression analyses estimated the associations between ­psychosocial working characteristics and depressive symptom trajectories.Results:We identified five depression trajectories. In four of them, depressive symptoms decreased slightly around retirement. In one, the symptom level was initially high, then decreased markedly across retirement. Perceptions of job demands, job strain, workplace social support, rewards, effort–reward imbalance and procedural justice were associated with the trajectories, while perceptions of decision authority and work efforts were only partly related to the trajectories.Conclusions:We observed a rather positive development of depressive symptoms across retirement in a sample of Swedish retirees. For a small group with poor psychosocial working characteristics, symptoms clearly decreased, which may indicate that a relief from poor working characteristics is associated with an improvement for some retirees. However, for other retirees poor working characteristics were associated with persistent symptoms, suggesting a long-term effect of these work stressors.

The mediating effect of work-life interference on the relationship between work-time control and depressive and musculoskeletal symptoms.

Objectives:Evidence shows that work-time control (WTC) affects health but underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Work–life interference (WLI) might be a step on the causal pathway. The present study examined whether WLI mediates effects on mental and physical health and contrasted these to other causal pathways.Methods:Four biennial waves from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH, N=26 804) were used. Cross-lagged analyses were conducted to estimate if WLI mediated effects from WTC (differentiating between control over daily hours and time off) to subsequent depressive and musculoskeletal symptoms. Other causal directions (reversed mediation, direct and reversed direct effects) and robustness of mediation (by including covariates) were examined.Results:WLI partially mediated the relationship of WTC (control over daily hours/time off) with both health outcomes. Indirect effect estimates were small for depressive symptoms (-0.053 for control over time off and -0.018 for control over daily hours) and very small for musculoskeletal symptoms (-0.007 and -0.003, respectively). While other causal directions were generally weaker than causal mediational pathways, they played a larger role for musculoskeletal compared to depressive symptoms. Estimates relating to control over time off were in general larger than for control over daily hours.Conclusions:Our results suggest that WLI mediates part of the effect from WTC to mental/musculoskeletal symptoms, but small estimates suggest that (i) WTC plays a small but consistent role in effects on health and (ii) particularly regarding musculoskeletal disorders, other causal directions and mediators need to be further examined.

Associations between cognitive and affective job insecurity and incident purchase of psychotropic drugs: A prospective cohort study of Swedish employees

BackgroundPrevious research suggests that job insecurity is associated with poor mental health, but research examining how different aspects of job insecurity relate to clinical measures of poor mental health are lacking. We aimed to investigate the association between cognitive and affective job insecurity and incident purchases of psychotropic drugs. MethodsWe included 14,586 employees participating in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), who answered questions on cognitive and/or affective job insecurity in 2010, 2012 or 2014. Respondents were followed in the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (2.5 years on average). We investigated the association between job insecurity and incident psychotropic drugs with marginal structural Cox models. ResultsAffective job insecurity was associated with an increased risk of purchasing any psychotropic drugs (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.40 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.04–1.89)) while cognitive job insecurity was not (HR 1.15 (95% CI 0.92–1.43)). Cognitive and affective job insecurity were both associated with antidepressants, affective job insecurity with anxiolytics, but no association was found with sedatives. Women and younger workers seemed to have higher risk compared to men and older workers, but differences were not statistically significant. LimitationsAlthough job insecurity and psychotropic drugs were assessed through independent sources and several covariates were considered, unmeasured confounding cannot be ruled out. ConclusionsThe findings support that affective job insecurity is a risk factor for psychotropic drug treatment, that it may be relevant to distinguish between different types of job insecurity, and to consider sex and age as moderating factors.

Mind and body exercises (MBE), prescribed antidepressant medication, physical exercise and depressive symptoms – a longitudinal study

AimsEarlier studies show that participation in mind and body exercises (MBE) is cross-sectionally associated with high levels of depressive symptoms and antidepressants. This study investigates the longitudinal interrelationship between depressive symptoms, MBE and antidepressants. Methods3269 men and 4318 women aged 24–74 years participated in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). Measures of MBE practice and depressive symptoms were drawn from the SLOSH questionnaire, data on prescription drugs were obtained from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze temporal relationships. ResultsBoth MBE practice and antidepressants in 2012 was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms two years later. Depressive symptoms in turn were associated with higher levels of later MBE practice and antidepressants. These relationships seemed to be explained by confounding by indication and were of higher magnitude for antidepressants than for MBE. ConclusionOverall, SEM analysis shows that MBE and antidepressant treatment were both bi-directionally associated with depressive symptoms over time. Part of the explanation is likely to be confounding by indication: those with symptoms of depression more likely to undertake treatment, and MBE alone may be more common among those with less severe depression. The results clarify some of our findings from earlier studies and give some important, new information on what people are doing to manage depressive symptoms on a societal level, regarding self-care, medication, and the combination of both.

Trajectories of effort-reward imbalance in Swedish workers: Differences in demographic and work-related factors and associations with health

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to identify trajectories of effort-reward imbalance (ERI), to examine these with respect to demographic (age, gender, socio-economic position) and work-related (employment contract, work hours, shift work, sector) factors, and to investigate associations with different health indicators (self-rated health, depressive symptoms, migraine, sickness absence). The study used four waves of data (N = 6702), collected biennially within the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). Using latent class growth modelling, we identified four trajectories: a stable low imbalance trajectory, which comprised 90% of all participants, and three change trajectories including a decreasing trajectory (4% of the participants), an inverted U-shaped trajectory and an increasing imbalance trajectory, both in 3% of the participants. Results indicate that a sizeable proportion of Swedish employees’ experience imbalance between efforts and rewards at work. The most favourable trajectory comprised relatively more men and was characterised by better work-related characteristics than the less favourable ERI trajectories. All change trajectories were dominated by women and employees in the public sector. Health developments followed ERI trajectories, such that less favourable trajectories associated with impaired health and more favourable trajectories associated with better health. Sickness absence increased among all ERI trajectories, most so for the decreasing and increasing ERI trajectory.

Is combining human service work with family caregiving associated with additional odds of emotional exhaustion and sickness absence? A cross-sectional study based on a Swedish cohort

PurposeThe aim of the study is to examine to what extent human service work and family caregiving is associated with emotional exhaustion and sickness absence, and to what extent combining human service work and family caregiving is associated with additional odds.MethodsData were derived from participants in paid work from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health, year 2016 (n = 11 951). Logistic regression analyses were performed and odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals estimated for the association between human service work and family caregiving, respectively, as well as combinations of the two on one hand, and emotional exhaustion and self-reported sickness absence on the other hand. Interaction between human service work and family caregiving was assessed as departure from additivity with Rothman’s synergy index.ResultsHuman service work was not associated with higher odds of emotional exhaustion, but with higher odds of sickness absence. Providing childcare was associated with higher odds of emotional exhaustion, but lower odds of sickness absence, and caring for a relative was associated with higher odds of both emotional exhaustion and sickness absence. There was no indication of an additive interaction between human service work and family caregiving in relation to neither emotional exhaustion nor sickness absence.ConclusionsWe did not find support for the common assumption that long hours providing service and care for others by combining human service work with family caregiving can explain the higher risk of sickness absence or emotional exhaustion among employees in human service occupations.

Reduction in sleep disturbances at retirement: evidence from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health

AbstractAlthough retirement involves a radical change in daily activities, income, social roles and relationships, and the transition from paid work into retirement can, therefore, be expected to affect sleep, little is known about the effects of old-age retirement on changes in sleep disturbances, and how the impact of retirement may vary by gender, age and prior working conditions. This study modelled reported sleep disturbances up to nine years before to nine years following retirement in a sample of 2,110 participants from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). Sleep disturbances over the retirement transition were modelled using repeated-measures regression analysis with Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) in relation to gender, age at retirement, working patterns (night work, full-time/part-time work), control over work hours, and psychological and physical working conditions. The analyses controlled for civil status, education level, income obtained from registers and self-rated health. Retiring from paid work was associated with decreased sleep disturbances. Greater reductions in sleep disturbances were reported by women, as well as by participants who retired before age 65 years, who were working full-time, who lacked control over their work hours and who had high psychological demands. These results, suggesting that old-age retirement from paid work is associated with reductions in disturbed sleep, pose a challenge for governments seeking to increase retirement ages.