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Occupational Medicine Advance Access published online on July 3, 2006
Occupational Medicine, doi:10.1093/occmed/kql058
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Article

Prospective study of physical and psychosocial risk factors for sickness absence

Merete Labriola 1 *, Thomas Lund 1, and Hermann Burr 1

1 AMI, Lerso Parkalle 105 Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Merete Labriola, E-mail: mla{at}ami.dk


  Abstract

Aim To investigate the associations between psychosocial and physical work environment exposures and sickness absence from work taking into account health, health behaviour and employer characteristics known to affect sickness absence.

Methods In 1995, a random sample of 5574 employees aged 18-64 years were interviewed. In 2000, 3792 of those still employed supplied data on days absent from work the year preceding the date of follow-up. Associations between risk factors at baseline and sickness absence at follow-up were studied. Logistic regression analyses were performed.

Results Sickness absence was associated with working with arms lifted/hands twisted, extreme bending/stooping of the back/neck, repetitive monotonous work, low skill discretion, low decision authority, obesity, current and former smoking, poor self-rated health, female gender, increasing age and public employer. The aetiological fraction attributable to differences in work environment exposures was calculated to be 40%.

Conclusion The study suggests a potential for reducing sickness absence through multifactorial interventions towards smoking, obesity, physical and psychosocial work environment exposures. The study showed that differences in work environment exposures account for 40% of the cases of high sickness absence.

Keywords: Aetiological fraction; Denmark; employer characteristics; sickness absence; work environment.
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