Dataset Information

Unequal access? Use of sickness absence benefits by precariously employed workers with common mental disorders: a register-based cohort study in Sweden.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This study compares the use of sickness absence benefits (SABs) due to a common mental disorder (CMD) between precariously employed and non-precariously employed workers with CMDs.

Design

Participants

The study included 78 215 Swedish workers aged 27-61 who experienced CMDs in 2017, indicated by a new treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Excluded were those who emigrated or immigrated, were self-employed, had an annual employment-based income <100 Swedish Krona, had >90 days of unemployment per year, had student status, had SABs due to CMDs during the exposure measurement (2016) and the two previous years, had an SSRI prescription 1 year or less before the start of the SSRI prescription in 2017, had packs of >100 pills of SSRI medication, had a disability pension before 2017, were not entitled to SABs due to CMDs in 2016, and had no information about the exposure.

Outcome

The first incidence of SABs due to CMDs in 2017.

Results

The use of SABs due to a CMD was slightly lower among precariously employed workers compared with those in standard employment (adjusted OR [aOR] 0.92, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.05). Particularly, women with three consecutive years in precarious employment had reduced SABs use (aOR 0.48, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.89), while men in precarious employment showed weaker evidence of association. Those in standard employment with high income also showed a lower use of SABs (aOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.81). Low unionisation and both low and high-income levels were associated with lower use of SABs, particularly among women.

Conclusions

The study indicates that workers with CMDs in precarious employment may use SABs to a lower extent. Accordingly, there is a need for (1) guaranteeing access to SABs for people in precarious employment and/or (2) reducing involuntary forms of presenteeism.

SUBMITTER: Hernando-Rodriguez JC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10357787 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Unequal access? Use of sickness absence benefits by precariously employed workers with common mental disorders: a register-based cohort study in Sweden.

Hernando-Rodriguez Julio C JC Matilla-Santander Nuria N Murley Chantelle C Blindow Katrina K Kvart Signild S Almroth Melody M Kreshpaj Bertina B Thern Emelie E Badarin Kathryn K Muntaner Carles C Gunn Virginia V Padrosa Eva E Julià Mireia M Bodin Theo T

BMJ open 20230719 7

<h4>Objective</h4>This study compares the use of sickness absence benefits (SABs) due to a common mental disorder (CMD) between precariously employed and non-precariously employed workers with CMDs.<h4>Design</h4>Register-based cohort study.<h4>Participants</h4>The study included 78 215 Swedish workers aged 27-61 who experienced CMDs in 2017, indicated by a new treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Excluded were those who emigrated or immigrated, were self-employed, had ...[more]

PMID: 37474163

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Project description:ObjectivesSocioeconomic position has been linked to sickness absence (SA). However, less is known about the role of occupational prestige, a measure of social status afforded by one's occupation, in SA. We investigated the association between occupational prestige and SA and the distribution of the association in women and men. We also examined the effect of intersections of gender and occupational prestige on SA.DesignLongitudinal.SettingA nationwide representative sample of Swedish working population.Participants97 397 employed individuals aged 25-59 years selected from the 2004, 2007 and 2010 waves of the Swedish Labour Force Survey and prospectively linked to the Swedish Longitudinal Integration Database for Health Insurance and Labour Market Studies.Outcome measuresThe number of SA days in any particular year during a 3-year follow-up and long-term (>120 days) SA based on those with at least one sick leave spell during the follow-up.ResultsOccupational prestige was weakly associated with SA in the total sample after adjusting for potential confounders. In the gender-stratified analysis, women in lower prestige occupations had higher absenteeism rates than women in high prestige occupations; men in lower prestige occupations had higher odds for long-term SA than men in high prestige occupations. In the intersectional analysis, women regardless of prestige level and men in lower prestige occupations had higher probability of SA compared with men in high prestige occupations. Women in high prestige occupations had the highest absenteeism rates (incidence rate ratio (IRR), 2.25, 95% CI, 2.20 to 2.31), while men in medium prestige occupations had the lowest rates (IRR, 1.17, 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.20). Compared with the rest of the groups, men in low and medium prestige occupations had higher odds for long-term absence.ConclusionThere is need to pay close attention to occupational prestige as a factor that may influence health and labour market participation.

Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic brought with it several changes, both regarding infection with COVID-19 itself as well as measures to combat the spread of infection, that might have affected sickness absence (SA) patterns. The aim was to explore whether incidence and length of SA changed between 2019, 2020, and 2021, as well as to determine factors associated with SA due to COVID-19 or COVID-like diagnoses among privately employed white-collar workers.MethodsA cohort of all privately employed white-collar workers in 2018 in Sweden (n = 1 347 778; 47% women) was followed prospectively during 2019, 2020, and 2021 using linked nationwide register data. We calculated numbers and proportions of people with incident SA (in SA spells > 14 days) due to COVID-19, COVID-like diagnoses (certain respiratory, infectious, and symptom-based diagnoses used in the beginning of the pandemic for suspected COVID-19), and all other SA, respectively, and mean number of SA days with somatic and mental diagnoses. Logistic regression was used to determine odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals for associations between prior diagnosis-specific SA, sociodemographic and work-related factors and incident SA due to COVID-19 or COVID-like diagnoses.ResultsIn 2020, 0.6% of the women and 0.3% of the men had incident SA due to COVID-19. For SA with COVID-like diagnoses, the corresponding proportions were 1.2% and 0.5%. The proportion of people with all other SA was stable across the years, at 8.1-8.4% for women and 3.7-3.9% for men. The mean number of SA days per person increased each year for somatic diagnoses but for mental diagnoses it decreased from 2019 to 2020 and increased to 2021 among women and men. Factors associated most strongly with incident SA due to COVID-19 or COVID-like diagnoses were low income (adjusted OR-range 1.36-5.67 compared to the highest income group) and prior SA due to COVID-like diagnoses (OR-range 4.67-5.31 compared to those with no such prior SA).ConclusionsA small proportion of privately-employed white-collar workers had incident SA spells > 14 days due to COVID-19 or COVID-like diagnoses. The factors associated with SA due to COVID-19 were similar to factors associated with SA due to other diagnoses in previous studies.

Dataset Information

Unequal access? Use of sickness absence benefits by precariously employed workers with common mental disorders: a register-based cohort study in Sweden.

Objective

Design

Participants

Outcome

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Unequal access? Use of sickness absence benefits by precariously employed workers with common mental disorders: a register-based cohort study in Sweden.

Similar Datasets

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