| 1. |
- Airaksinen, Jaakko, et al.
(author)
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The effect of smoking cessation on work disability risk : a longitudinal study analysing observational data as non-randomized nested pseudo-trials
- 2019
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In: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 48:2, s. 415-422
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundSmoking increases disability risk, but the extent to which smoking cessation reduces the risk of work disability is unclear. We used non-randomized nested pseudo-trials to estimate the benefits of smoking cessation for preventing work disability.MethodsWe analysed longitudinal data on smoking status and work disability [long-term sickness absence (≥90 days) or disability pension] from two independent prospective cohort studies—the Finnish Public Sector study (FPS) (n = 7393) and the Health and Social Support study (HeSSup) (n = 2701)—as ‘nested pseudo-trials’. All the 10 094 participants were smokers at Time 1 and free of long-term work disability at Time 2. We compared the work disability risk after Time 2 of the participants who smoked at Time 1 and Time 2 with that of those who quit smoking between these times.ResultsOf the participants in pseudo-trials, 2964 quit smoking between Times 1 and 2. During the mean follow-up of 4.8 to 8.6 years after Time 2, there were 2197 incident cases of work disability across the trials. Quitting smoking was associated with a reduced risk of any work disability [summary hazard ratio = 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81–0.98]. The hazard ratio for the association between quitting smoking and permanent disability pension (928 cases) was of similar magnitude, but less precisely estimated (0.91, 95% CI 0.81–1.02). Among the participants with high scores on the work disability risk score (top third), smoking cessation reduced the risk of disability pension by three percentage points. Among those with a low risk score (bottom third), smoking cessation reduced the risk by half a percentage point.ConclusionsOur results suggest an approximately 10% hazard reduction of work disability as a result of quitting smoking.
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| 2. |
- Albrecht, Sophie Charlotte, et al.
(author)
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Association of work-time control with sickness absence due to musculoskeletal and mental disorders : An occupational cohort study
- 2020
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In: Journal of Occupational Health. - : Wiley. - 1341-9145 .- 1348-9585. ; 62:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Work-time control is associated with lower sickness absence rates, but it remains unclear whether this association differs by type of diagnosis and sub-dimension of work-time control (control over daily hours and control over time off) and whether certain vulnerable groups benefit more from higher levels of work-time control.Methods: Survey data from the Finnish 10-town study in 2004 were used to examine if baseline levels of work-time control were associated with register data on diagnose-specific sickness absence for 7 consecutive years (n = 22 599). Cox proportional hazard models were conducted, adjusted for age, sex, education, occupational status, shift work including nights, and physical/mental workload.Results: During follow-up, 2,818 individuals were on sick leave (>= 10 days) due to musculoskeletal disorders and 1724 due to mental disorders. Employees with high (HR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.74-0.87; HR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.70-0.82, respectively) and moderate (HR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.77-0.90; HR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.79-0.91, respectively) levels of control over daily hours/control over time off had a decreased risk of sickness absence due to musculoskeletal disorders. Sub-group analyses revealed that especially workers who were older benefitted the most from higher levels of work-time control. Neither sub-dimension of work-time control was related to sickness absence due to mental disorders.Conclusions: Over a 7-year period of follow-up, high and moderate levels of work-time control were related to lower rates of sickness absence due to musculoskeletal disorders, but not due to mental disorders.
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| 3. |
- Clark, Alice, et al.
(author)
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Workplace discrimination as risk factor for long-term sickness absence : Longitudinal analyses of onset and changes in workplace adversity
- 2021
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 16:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Workplace discrimination may affect the health of the exposed employees, but it is not known whether workplace discrimination is also associated with an increased risk of long-term sickness absence. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal associations of changes in and onset of workplace discrimination with the risk of long-term sickness absence. Data on workplace discrimination were obtained from 29,597 employees participating in survey waves 2004, 2006, 2008 and/or 2010 of the Finnish Public Sector Study. Four-year changes in long-term sickness absence (>= 10 days of medically certified absence with a mental or non-mental diagnosis) were assessed. This covered successive study waves in analyses of onset of workplace discrimination as well as fixed effect analyses of change in workplace discrimination (concurrent i.e. during the exposure year and 1-year lagged i.e. within one year following exposure), by using each employee as his/her own control. The risk of long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders was greater for employees with vs. without onset of workplace discrimination throughout the 4-year period, reaching a peak at the year when the onset of discrimination was reported (adjusted risk ratio 2.13; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.80-2.52). The fixed effects analyses showed that workplace discrimination was associated with higher odds of concurrent, but not 1-year lagged, long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders (adjusted odds ratio 1.61; 95% CI 1.33-1.96 and adjusted odds ratio 1.02; 95% CI 0.83-1.25, respectively). Long-term sickness absence due to non-mental conditions was not associated with workplace discrimination. In conclusion, these findings suggest that workplace discrimination is associated with an elevated risk of long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders. Supporting an acute effect, the excess risk was confined to the year when workplace discrimination occurred.
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| 4. |
- Dragano, Nico, et al.
(author)
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Effort-Reward Imbalance at Work and Incident Coronary Heart Disease A Multicohort Study of 90,164 Individuals
- 2017
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In: Epidemiology. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 1044-3983 .- 1531-5487. ; 28:4, s. 619-626
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Epidemiologic evidence for work stress as a risk factor for coronary heart disease is mostly based on a single measure of stressful work known as job strain, a combination of high demands and low job control. We examined whether a complementary stress measure that assesses an imbalance between efforts spent at work and rewards received predicted coronary heart disease.Methods: This multicohort study (the "IPD-Work" consortium) was based on harmonized individual-level data from 11 European prospective cohort studies. Stressful work in 90,164 men and women without coronary heart disease at baseline was assessed by validated effort-reward imbalance and job strain questionnaires. We defined incident coronary heart disease as the first nonfatal myocardial infarction or coronary death. Study-specific estimates were pooled by random effects meta-analysis.Results: At baseline, 31.7% of study members reported effort-reward imbalance at work and 15.9% reported job strain. During a mean follow-up of 9.8 years, 1,078 coronary events were recorded. After adjustment for potential confounders, a hazard ratio of 1.16 (95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.35) was observed for effort-reward imbalance compared with no imbalance. The hazard ratio was 1.16 (1.01-1.34) for having either effort-reward imbalance or job strain and 1.41 (1.12-1.76) for having both these stressors compared to having neither effort-reward imbalance nor job strain.Conclusions: Individuals with effort-reward imbalance at work have an increased risk of coronary heart disease, and this appears to be independent of job strain experienced. These findings support expanding focus beyond just job strain in future research on work stress.
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| 5. |
- Ervasti, Jenni, et al.
(author)
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Long working hours and risk of 50 health conditions and mortality outcomes : a multicohort study in four European countries
- 2021
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In: The Lancet Regional Health. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-7762. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Studies on the association between long working hours and health have captured only a narrow range of outcomes (mainly cardiometabolic diseases and depression) and no outcome-wide studies on this topic are available. To achieve wider scope of potential harm, we examined long working hours as a risk factor for a wide range of disease and mortality endpoints.Methods: The data of this multicohort study were from two population cohorts from Finland (primary analysis, n=59 599) and nine cohorts (replication analysis, n=44 262) from Sweden, Denmark, and the UK, all part of the Individual-participant Meta-analysis in Working Populations (IPD-Work) consortium. Baseline-assessed long working hours (≥55 hours per week) were compared to standard working hours (35-40 h). Outcome measures with follow-up until age 65 years were 46 diseases that required hospital treatment or continuous pharmacotherapy, all-cause, and three cause-specific mortality endpoints, ascertained via linkage to national health and mortality registers.Findings: 2747 (4·6%) participants in the primary cohorts and 3027 (6·8%) in the replication cohorts worked long hours. After adjustment for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, working long hours was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death (hazard ratio 1·68; 95% confidence interval 1·08-2·61 in primary analysis and 1·52; 0·90-2·58 in replication analysis), infections (1·37; 1·13-1·67 and 1·45; 1·13-1·87), diabetes (1·18; 1·01-1·38 and 1·41; 0·98-2·02), injuries (1·22; 1·00-1·50 and 1·18; 0·98-1·18) and musculoskeletal disorders (1·15; 1·06-1·26 and 1·13; 1·00-1·27). Working long hours was not associated with all-cause mortality.Interpretation: Follow-up of 50 health outcomes in four European countries suggests that working long hours is associated with an elevated risk of early cardiovascular death and hospital-treated infections before age 65. Associations, albeit weak, were also observed with diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. In these data working long hours was not related to elevated overall mortality.
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| 6. |
- Ervasti, Jenni, et al.
(author)
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Sickness absence diagnoses among abstainers, low-risk drinkers and at-risk drinkers : consideration of the U-shaped association between alcohol use and sickness absence in four cohort studies
- 2018
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In: Addiction. - : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Inc.. - 0965-2140 .- 1360-0443. ; 113:9, s. 1633-1642
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims To estimate differences in the strength and shape of associations between alcohol use and diagnosis-specific sickness absence. Design A multi-cohort study. Participants (n = 47 520) responded to a survey on alcohol use at two time-points, and were linked to records of sickness absence. Diagnosis-specific sickness absence was followed for 4-7 years from the latter survey. Setting and participants From Finland, we had population cohort survey data from 1998 and 2003 and employee cohort survey data from 2000-02 and 2004. From France and the United Kingdom, we had employee cohort survey data from 1993 and 1997, and 1985-88 and 1991-94, respectively. Measurements We used standard questionnaires to assess alcohol intake categorized into 0, 1-11 and > 11 units per week in women and 0, 1-34 and > 34 units per week in men. We identified groups with stable and changing alcohol use over time. We linked participants to records from sickness absence registers. Diagnoses of sickness absence were coded according to the International Classification of Diseases. Estimates were adjusted for sex, age, socio-economic status, smoking and body mass index. Findings Women who reported drinking 1-11 units and men who reported drinking 1-34 units of alcohol per week in both surveys were the reference group. Compared with them, women and men who reported no alcohol use in either survey had a higher risk of sickness absence due to mental disorders [rate ratio = 1.51, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.22-1.88], musculoskeletal disorders (1.22, 95% CI = 1.06-1.41), diseases of the digestive system (1.35, 95% CI = 1.02-1.77) and diseases of the respiratory system (1.49, 95% CI = 1.29-1.72). Women who reported alcohol consumption of > 11 weekly units and men who reported alcohol consumption of > 34 units per week in both surveys were at increased risk of absence due to injury or poisoning (1.44, 95% CI = 1.13-1.83). Conclusions In Finland, France and the United Kingdom, people who report not drinking any alcohol on two occasions several years apart appear to have a higher prevalence of sickness absence from work with chronic somatic and mental illness diagnoses than those drinking below a risk threshold of 11 units per week for women and 34 units per week for men. Persistent at-risk drinking in Finland, France and the United Kingdom appears to be related to increased absence due to injury or poisoning.
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| 7. |
- Ervasti, Jenni, et al.
(author)
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Sociodemographic Differences Between Alcohol Use and Sickness Absence : Pooled Analysis of Four Cohort Studies
- 2018
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In: Alcohol and Alcoholism. - : Oxford University Press. - 0735-0414 .- 1464-3502. ; 53:1, s. 95-103
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims: We examined differences in sickness absence in relation to at-risk drinking and abstinence, taking into account potential changes in consumption.& para;& para;Methods: We used individual-participant data (n = 46,514) from four prospective cohort studies from Finland, France and the UK. Participants responded to a survey on alcohol use at two time points 4-6 years apart, and were linked to records of sickness absence for an similar to 6-year follow-up after the latter survey. Abstainers were those reporting no alcohol use in either survey. At-risk drinkers at T1 were labelled as 'former', at-risk drinkers at T2 as 'current' and at-risk drinkers at both times as 'consistent' at-risk drinkers. The reference group was low-risk drinkers at both times. Study-specific analyses were stratified by sex and socioeconomic status (SES) and the estimates were pooled using meta-analysis.& para;& para;Results: Among men (n = 17,285), abstainers (6%), former (5%), current (5%) and consistent (7%) at-risk drinkers had an increased risk of sickness absence compared with consistent low-risk drinkers (77%). Among women (n = 29,229), only abstainers (12%) had a higher risk of sickness absence compared to consistent low-risk drinkers (74%). After adjustment for lifestyle and health, abstaining from alcohol was associated with sickness absence among people with intermediate and high SES, but not among people with low SES.& para;& para;Conclusions: The U-shaped alcohol use-sickness absence association is more consistent in men than women. Abstinence is a risk factor for sickness absence among people with higher rather than lower SES. Healthy worker effect and health selection may partly explain the observed differences.& para;& para;Short summary: In a pooled analysis from four cohort studies from three European countries, we demonstrated a U-shaped association between alcohol use and sickness absence, particularly among men. Abstinence from alcohol was associated with increased sickness absenteeism among both sexes and across socioeconomic strata, except those with low SES.
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| 8. |
- Ferrie, Jane E., et al.
(author)
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Job insecurity and risk of diabetes : a meta-analysis of individual participant data
- 2016
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In: CMJA. Canadian Medical Association Journal. Onlineutg. Med tittel. - : Canadian Medical Association,Association Medicale Canadienne. - 0820-3946 .- 1488-2329. ; 188:17-18, s. E447-E455
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Job insecurity has been associated with certain health outcomes. We examined the role of job insecurity as a risk factor for incident diabetes.METHODS: We used individual participant data from 8 cohort studies identified in 2 open-access data archives and 11 cohort studies participating in the Individual-Participant-Data Meta-analysis in Working Populations Consortium. We calculated study-specific estimates of the association between job insecurity reported at baseline and incident diabetes over the follow-up period. We pooled the estimates in a meta-analysis to produce a summary risk estimate.RESULTS: The 19 studies involved 140 825 participants from Australia, Europe and the United States, with a mean follow-up of 9.4 years and 3954 incident cases of diabetes. In the preliminary analysis adjusted for age and sex, high job insecurity was associated with an increased risk of incident diabetes compared with low job insecurity (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-1.30). In the multivariable-adjusted analysis restricted to 15 studies with baseline data for all covariates (age, sex, socioeconomic status, obesity, physical activity, alcohol and smoking), the association was slightly attenuated (adjusted OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.24). Heterogeneity between the studies was low to moderate (age- and sex-adjusted model: I(2) = 24%, p = 0.2; multivariable-adjusted model: I(2) = 27%, p = 0.2). In the multivariable-adjusted analysis restricted to high-quality studies, in which the diabetes diagnosis was ascertained from electronic medical records or clinical examination, the association was similar to that in the main analysis (adjusted OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04-1.35).INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest that self-reported job insecurity is associated with a modest increased risk of incident diabetes. Health care personnel should be aware of this association among workers reporting job insecurity.
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| 9. |
- Fransson, Eleonor I, et al.
(author)
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Job strain and the risk of stroke : an individual-participant data meta-analysis
- 2015
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In: Stroke. - 0039-2499 .- 1524-4628. ; 46:2, s. 557-559
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Psychosocial stress at work has been proposed to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, its role as a risk factor for stroke is uncertain.METHODS: We conducted an individual-participant-data meta-analysis of 196 380 males and females from 14 European cohort studies to investigate the association between job strain, a measure of work-related stress, and incident stroke.RESULTS: In 1.8 million person-years at risk (mean follow-up 9.2 years), 2023 first-time stroke events were recorded. The age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratio for job strain relative to no job strain was 1.24 (95% confidence interval, 1.05;1.47) for ischemic stroke, 1.01 (95% confidence interval, 0.75;1.36) for hemorrhagic stroke, and 1.09 (95% confidence interval, 0.94;1.26) for overall stroke. The association with ischemic stroke was robust to further adjustment for socioeconomic status.CONCLUSION: Job strain may be associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke, but further research is needed to determine whether interventions targeting job strain would reduce stroke risk beyond existing preventive strategies.
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| 10. |
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