Can high psychological job demands, low decision latitude, and high job strain predict disability pensions? A 12-year follow-up of middle-aged Swedish workers

• OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate whether job strain, psychological demands, and decision latitude are independent determinants of disability pension rates over a 12-year follow-up period. METHODS: We studied 3,181 men and 3,359 women, all middle-aged and working at least 30 h per week, recruited from the general population of Malmö, Sweden, in 1992. The participation rate was 41 %. Baseline data include sociodemographics, the Job Content Questionnaire, lifestyle, and health-related variables. Disability pension information was obtained through record linkage from the National Health Insurance Register. RESULTS: Nearly 20 % of the women and 15 % of the men were granted a disability pension during the follow-up period. The highest quartile of psychological job demands and the lowest quartile of decision latitude were associated with disability pensions when controlling for age, socioeconomic position, and health risk behaviours. In the final model, with adjustment also for health indicators and stress from outside the workplace, the hazard ratios for high strain jobs (i.e. high psychological demands in combination with low decision latitude) were 1.5 in men (95 % CI, 1.04-2.0) and 1.7 in women (95 % CI, 1.3-2.2). Stratifying for health at baseline showed that high strain tended to affect healthy but not unhealthy men, while this pattern was reversed in women. CONCLUSIONS: High psychological demands, low decision latitude, and job strain were all confirmed as independent risk factors for subsequent disability pensions. In order to increase chances of individuals remaining in the work force, interventions against these adverse psychosocial factors appear worthwhile.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Arbetsmedicin och miljömedicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Occupational Health and Environmental Health (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Disability leave

Stress

physiological

Stress

psychological

Gender

Longitudinal studies

sickness absence

cardiovascular-disease

construction workers

psychosocial factors

risk-factors

life-style

health

population

stress

environment

aspl

AvshalomCaspl

AMilne

Barry J.Milne

BJDanese

AndreaDanese

APoulton

RichiePoulton

Disability leave

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)