Dataset Information

The Joint Contributions of Overweight/Obesity and Physical and Mental Working Conditions to Short and Long Sickness Absence among Young and Midlife Finnish Employees: A Register-Linked Follow-Up Study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Overweight/obesity and strenuous working conditions are associated with work disability, but their joint contributions to sickness absence (SA) are unknown. We aimed to examine their joint contributions to SA periods of 1-7 and ≥8 days.

Methods

Self-reported data on body mass index and working conditions, including perceived physically and mentally strenuous work and hours per day spent in heavy physical work, were linked to the employer's SA register for the City of Helsinki, Finland, employees (n = 4,323, women 78%) who were 19-39 years old at baseline. We calculated rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for SA periods using negative binomial regression models among participants with healthy weight and overweight/obesity, with and without exposure to strenuous working conditions. The mean follow-up time was 2.1 years.

Results

Participants with overweight/obesity and exposure to physically strenuous working conditions had the highest age- and gender-adjusted RRs for SA periods of both 1-7 and ≥8 days (physically strenuous work: RR: 1.38, CI: 1.25-1.52, and RR: 1.87, CI: 1.60-2.18, respectively; ≥3 h per day spent in physical work: RR: 1.40, CI: 1.26-1.55 and 2.04, CI: 1.73-2.40, respectively). The interaction between overweight/obesity and physically strenuous working conditions was additive for SA periods of 1-7 days and weakly synergistic for SA periods of ≥8 days. For mentally strenuous work, participants with overweight/obesity and exposure to mentally strenuous work had the highest age-adjusted RRs for SA periods of ≥8 days, and the interaction was additive.

Conclusion

The joint contributions of overweight/obesity and exposure to strenuous working conditions to SA should be considered when aiming to reduce employees' SA. Employers might benefit from providing employees adequate support for weight management and adherence to healthy lifestyles while improving employees' working conditions.

SUBMITTER: Svard A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10836910 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The Joint Contributions of Overweight/Obesity and Physical and Mental Working Conditions to Short and Long Sickness Absence among Young and Midlife Finnish Employees: A Register-Linked Follow-Up Study.

Svärd Anna A Lallukka Tea T Oakman Jodi J Roos Eira E Ervasti Jenni J Salmela Jatta J

Obesity facts 20231025 1

<h4>Introduction</h4>Overweight/obesity and strenuous working conditions are associated with work disability, but their joint contributions to sickness absence (SA) are unknown. We aimed to examine their joint contributions to SA periods of 1-7 and ≥8 days.<h4>Methods</h4>Self-reported data on body mass index and working conditions, including perceived physically and mentally strenuous work and hours per day spent in heavy physical work, were linked to the employer's SA register for the City of ...[more]

PMID: 37879311

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundPain conditions and poorer mental health are associated with work disability. However, few studies have examined the association of concurrent pain and poorer mental health with sickness absence among younger employees. We examined separate and joint associations of chronic pain, multisite pain, and mental health with total and long-term all-cause sickness absence days among younger Finnish municipal employees.MethodsThe Young Helsinki Health-study data were collected in 2017 from 19-39-year-old employees of the City of Helsinki, Finland. Chronic (≥ 3 months) and multisite (≥ 2 body sites) pain and mental health (RAND-36 emotional wellbeing subscale dichotomized by median score) were self-reported (n = 3911). Chronic pain, multisite pain and mental health were analyzed separately and combined. Register data on total (≥ 1 workdays) and long-term (≥ 11 workdays) sickness absence days during the following year were obtained. Negative binomial regression analyses were performed with sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors as confounders. Gender interaction and synergistic indices were examined.ResultsChronic multisite pain was associated with long-term sickness absence days (rate ratio [RR] 2.51, 95% CI 1.17-5.42). Chronic pain (RR 5.04, 95% CI 2.14-11.87) and multisite pain (RR 4.88, 95% CI 2.30-10.33) were associated with long-term sickness absence days among employees with poorer mental health. There was a synergistic interaction between gender and multisite pain for total sickness absence days (synergy index 1.80, 95% CI 1.27-2.54), with stronger associations among women.ConclusionsChronic and multisite pain are associated with long-term sickness absence among younger employees, particularly among women and employees with concurrent poorer mental health. Consideration of this knowledge at workplaces and in healthcare could help to identify and support employees at increased risk of later sickness absence.

Dataset Information

The Joint Contributions of Overweight/Obesity and Physical and Mental Working Conditions to Short and Long Sickness Absence among Young and Midlife Finnish Employees: A Register-Linked Follow-Up Study.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

The Joint Contributions of Overweight/Obesity and Physical and Mental Working Conditions to Short and Long Sickness Absence among Young and Midlife Finnish Employees: A Register-Linked Follow-Up Study.

Similar Datasets

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