Preventing Sickness Absence With Career Management Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Field Trial.

This study examined whether a group intervention focusing on building up preparedness for career management can prevent future sickness absence.Register-based data on the number of sickness absence days and sickness absence episodes were examined as outcomes of the intervention among 684 employees in 17 organizations in a randomized controlled trial. Sickness absence data were collected covering a period from 1 year before (baseline) to approximately 2 years after the intervention (follow-up).

Obesity in early adulthood predicts knee pain and walking difficulties among men: A life course study.

Background: Few studies have addressed the role of obesity in young adulthood in knee problems later in life. We assessed the associations of overweight/obesity with knee pain and functional limitations of the knee across the life course.

Methods: Military health records from 1967 to 2000 (baseline) were searched for 18- to 50-year-old Finnish men (n = 1913) who participated in the Health 2000 Study (follow-up).

Role of overweight and obesity in low back disorders among men: a longitudinal study with a life course approach.

Objectives: To assess the association between being overweight or obese with low back pain (LBP) and clinically defined low back disorders across the life course.

Design: A longitudinal and cross-sectional study.

Setting: A nationwide health survey supplemented with data from records of prior compulsory military service.

Effects of cumulative sleep restriction on self-perceptions while multitasking.

This study addressed a rarely studied question of self-perceptions of performance and overall functional state during cumulative sleep restriction and the ensuing recovery period. Twenty healthy male volunteers, aged 19-29 years, were divided into a sleep restriction group (n = 13) and a control group (n = 7). On the first 2 nights, the sleep restriction group had an 8-h sleep opportunity that was restricted to 4 h for the next 5 nights, and then restored to 8 h for the last 2 nights.

Trends in musculoskeletal disorders and related health care utilization among conscripts in Finland, 1967-2006.

Objectives: The aim was to investigate time trends in musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among Finnish conscripts over a period of 40 years.

Methods: A nationally representative health examination survey (the Health 2000 study) was carried out in 2000-2001 among 10,000 adult Finns. All 18- to 50-year-old men were further sampled (n = 2674) and those with completion of the 6 to 12 month compulsory service were included.