The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on December 19, 2008
The European Journal of Public Health 2009 19(3):343-349; doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckn128
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Miscellaneous |
Differences in sickness absence in Sweden and Denmark: the cross national HAKNAK study
Thomas Lund1, Karl Bang Christensen2, Marjan Vaez3, Merete Labriola1, Malin Josephson4, Ebbe Villadsen5 and Margaretha Voss3
1 The Danish National Centre for Social Research, Denmark
2 Department of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
3 Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
4 National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Denmark
5 Section of Personal Injury Prevention, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Correspondence: Thomas Lund, Danish National Centre for Social Research, Herluf Trolles Gade 11, DK-1052 Copenhagen, Denmark, tel: +45 3348 0904, fax: +45 3348 0833, e-mail: tlu{at}sfi.dk
Received April 16, 2008 , accepted December 2, 2008
Aim: To investigate potential differences in sickness absence among public sector employees in Sweden and Denmark, and to what extent a difference was associated with age, gender, physical and psychosocial work environment exposures, lifestyle factors, self-rated health or work ability. Methods: In 2000, two cross-sectional samples of 8562 public sector employees in Sweden and Denmark were surveyed. The study outcome, self-reported number of sick-leave days the year preceding interview, was dichotomized into 7 days or less, and more than 7 days. Chi square test was used to analyse distribution of dependent and independent variables in the two sub-cohorts. Stratified logistic regression analysis was performed to identify causes for absence within the two sub-cohorts, and logistic regression analysis was performed to study differences in sickness absence levels between the two sub-cohorts. Results: More subjects from the Swedish study population reported more than 7 days of sickness absence. Factors associated with sickness absence were largely similar in the two countries. The difference in absence level between Sweden and Denmark was not associated with differences in age, gender, skill level, lifestyle, psychosocial or physical work environment, musculoskeletal symptoms or self-rated health, whereas work ability score decreased the difference in sickness absence level. Conclusion: The results could indicate an increased retention of employees with health problems in the Swedish labour market compared with the Danish labour market. A possible explanation for the differences in sickness absence ascertained in this study could be due to differences in the sickness insurance legislation.
Keywords: cross sectional, cross national, Denmark, sickness absence Sweden