Long-term sickness absence trajectories among ageing municipal employees - the contribution of social and health-related factors.

Background: The ageing work force is heterogeneous, following distinct development in work ability. This study aims to identify trajectories of long-term sickness absence (SA) in later careers and to examine potentially modifiable factors associated with the development of SA.

Methods: Data comprised of municipal employees of the city of Helsinki aged 50-60 years during 2004-2018 (N = 4729, 80% women).

Work participation trajectories among 1,098,748 Finns: reasons for premature labour market exit and the incidence of sickness absence due to mental disorders and musculoskeletal diseases.

Background: Early exit from paid employment is a notable public health and societal challenge. Previous research has largely focused on the relationships among variables instead of the relationships among individuals with different work participation history. Person-oriented methods enable to identify latent groups of individuals who are likely to follow similar development in their work participation over time.

Occupational Class Differences in Long-Term Sickness Absence Due to Breast Cancer during 2005-2013: A Population-Based Study among Finnish Women.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Western countries with clear socioeconomic differences. Higher occupational class is associated with higher breast cancer incidence but with better survival from the disease, whereas lower occupational class is associated with higher risk of sickness absence. We are not aware of previous studies examining changes over time in occupational class differences in sickness absence due to breast cancer.

Sickness absence due to different musculoskeletal diagnoses by occupational class: a register-based study among 1.2 million Finnish employees.

Objectives: Those in lower occupational classes have an increased risk of sickness absence due to musculoskeletal diseases (MSDs), but studies examining the associations simultaneously across specified diagnostic groups within MSDs are lacking. We examined occupational class differences in the occurrence and length of long-term sickness absence due to different musculoskeletal diagnoses.

Methods: A 70% random sample of employed Finns aged 25-64 years old at the end of 2013 was linked to data on sickness absence of over 10 working days obtained from The Social Insurance Institution of Finland and occupational class from Statistics Finland.

Occupational class differences in diagnostic-specific sickness absence: a register-based study in the Finnish population, 2005-2014.

Background: Musculoskeletal diseases and mental disorders are major causes of long-term sickness absence in Western countries. Although sickness absence is generally more common in lower occupational classes, little is known about class differences in diagnostic-specific absence over time. Focusing on Finland during 2005-2014, we therefore set out to examine the magnitude of and changes in absolute and relative occupational class differences in long-term sickness absence due to major diagnostic causes.

Occupational class differences in long sickness absence: a register-based study of 2.1 million Finnish women and men in 1996-2013.

Objectives: Sickness absence is consistently higher in lower occupational classes, but attempts to analyse changes over time in socioeconomic differences are scarce. We examined trends in medically certified sickness absence by occupational class in Finland from 1996 to 2013 and assessed the magnitude and changes in absolute and relative occupational class differences.

Design: Population-based, repeated cross-sectional study.