Ill Health-Related Job Loss: A One-Year Follow-Up of 54,026 Employees.

Introduction: The diagnoses of workers being unfit to work may be a relevant health indicator. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the one-year incidence of an unfit to work diagnosis.

Method: This one-year prospective study included all workers undergoing annual work medical examination from occupational health services in Troyes, France.

Results: Twenty-one occupational physicians followed 54,026 employees. The all-cause incidence of being unfit to return to work was 0.772%. The two main causes of being unfit to work were musculoskeletal disorders (61%) and psychopathologies (24%). The relative risk (RR) of being unfit to work, independent of the cause, was higher when employees were aged over 50 years (RR = 2.51), and female (RR = 1.51).

Conclusions: Prospective results from occupational physicians' medical records may provide significant and cost-effective directions to prioritize actions and target health promotion in the workplace.