Socioeconomic and sex differentials in reason for sickness absence from the Whitehall II Study.

Objectives: Large socioeconomic differences exist in disease and mortality. This paper describes the distribution of specific medical reasons for sickness absence by grade of employment in the Whitehall II study and validates the medical reason by comparison with general practitioners' records.

Methods: Analysis of sickness absence data on 5620 male and female civil servants aged 35-55 years.

Childhood social circumstances and psychosocial and behavioural factors as determinants of plasma fibrinogen.

Background: High plasma fibrinogen concentration is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. We have investigated associations between plasma fibrinogen and factors operating in childhood and in adulthood, including the psychosocial characteristics.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study of Civil Servants in London, UK, 2095 men and 1202 women aged 45-55 years provided blood samples for fibrinogen measurement at the time of the Whitehall II study baseline.

Sickness absence for psychiatric illness: the Whitehall II Study.

Over the past 20 years, rates of sickness absence have increased and psychiatric disorders have become an important cause of sickness absence. The socio-demographic associations for psychiatric sickness absence are reported from the Whitehall II study, a longitudinal survey of 10,308 London-based male and female civil servants between 35-55 years. Short spells (< or = 7 days), long spells (> 7 days) and very long spells (> 21 days) of sickness absence were examined in 5620 civil servants for whom reason for absence was available in civil service records.