PURPOSE To investigate associations between a wide variety of psychosocial work conditions and sickness absence in a medium-sized company. METHODS Prospective cohort study of 395 employees working in an insurance office. Self-reported psychosocial work conditions were measured by questionnaire in January 2002 and linked to registered sickness absence in the period January 2002 to December 200...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to examine the role of coping styles in sickness absence. In line with findings that contrast the reactive-passive focused strategies, problem-solving strategies are generally associated with positive results in terms of well-being and overall health outcomes; our hypothesis is that such strategies are positively related to a low frequency of sickness absence...

BACKGROUND Doctors have a low prevalence of sickness absence. Employment status is a determinant in the multifactorial background of sickness absence. The effect of doctors' employment status on sickness absence is unexplored. The study compares the number of sickness absence days during the last 12 months and the impact of employment status, psychosocial work stress, self-rated health and demo...

Sickness absence, or as it can be defined more precisely, absence from work that is attributed to sickness by the employee and accepted as such by the employer, remains high on the agenda for governments in the European Union (EU). Over the last decade most EU governments have implemented legislation that changes social security payments for the initial period of sickness absence. This has had ...

OBJECTIVE Although sickness absence often is a process over time, most studies have treated the phenomenon as a discrete event and focused more on its causes than its consequences. We aimed to examine whether various patterns of previous long-term sickness absence were associated with current low perceived social support at work. METHOD This is a historical cohort study based on data from a p...

BACKGROUND Sickness absence is an important economic problem, because of high costs and lost productivity. Determining factors associated with increased risk of sickness absence may lead to the development of preventive measures. AIMS To determine whether self-report questionnaires can identify those employees at risk of sickness absence METHODS Prospective study of 238 healthy administrati...

BACKGROUND Obesity is an increasing public health problem. A small number of studies have examined the relationship between obesity and sickness absence, with mixed results, particularly regarding short-term sickness absence. AIMS To determine if obesity is associated with short- and long-term sickness absence and to investigate the mechanisms that may underlie any association. METHODS Cros...

This study examines predictors of sickness absence in patients presenting to a health practitioner with acute/ subacute low back pain (LBP). Aims of this study were to identify baseline-variables that detect patients with a new LBP episode at risk of sickness absence and to identify prognostic models for sickness absence at different time points after initial presentation. Prospective cohort st...

BACKGROUND Sickness absence has been shown to be a risk marker for severe future health outcomes, such as disability retirement and premature death. However, it is poorly understood how all-cause and diagnosis-specific sickness absence is reflected in subsequent physical and mental health functioning over time. The aim of this study was to examine the association of all-cause and diagnosis-spec...

BACKGROUND Although sleep disturbances and fatigue are common conditions, frequently shown to be associated with sickness absence, only a few studies have prospectively investigated their independent effects on sickness absence, while adjusting for depressive symptoms. This study aims (i) to examine whether sleep disturbances and fatigue are independently related to the onset of register-based ...