Affiliations: Social Medicine, Department of Public Health and
Community Medicine, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg,
Göteborg, Sweden
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Carin Staland Nyman, PhD, Social
Medicine, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, PO Box 453,
SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden. Tel.: +46 31 7866141; Fax +46 31 162847;
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Women experience sickness absence more often than men, but few
studies have addressed the possibility that the sick-leave period itself could
be regarded as an exposure with possible positive or negative consequences on
health. The aim was to explore the association between experience of sickness
absence and self-rated physical health. Interview data from population samples
in 1990 and 1995 of women born in 1935, 1945, 1955 and 1965
(n=231) were used. 'Any sick-leave' and 'Long sick-leave'
were used as exposure measures and analyzed in relation to change in self-rated
physical health with multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for age and
prior sickness absence. Separate analyses were performed for women with
psychiatric disorders (DSM-III-R) and different level of domestic
responsibility. The proportion reporting good health at baseline and follow up
were lower when experienced sickness absence compared to those who had not. For
women exposed to long sick-leave, the OR for remained poor health were 4.1
(95% CI 1.1–15.4), and for women with psychiatric disorders, the OR for a
change from poor to good health was 9.9 (1.7–58.5). Women with high level of
domestic responsibility and exposed to long sick-leave, had increased ORs for
both a positive and negative change in health. This explorative study
contributes to the sparse knowledge of consequences on health of sickness
absence.
