Dataset Information

The association between part-time and temporary employment and sickness absence: a prospective Swedish twin study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sickness absence (SA) is becoming a major economic problem in many countries. Our aim was to investigate whether type of employment, including temporary employment or part-time employment, is associated with SA while controlling for familial factors (genetic and shared environment). Differences between men and women and across employment sectors were explored.

Methods

This is a prospective twin study based on 21 105 twins born in Sweden 1959-85. The participants completed a survey in 2005 with follow-up of SA (?15 days), using register data, until end of 2013. The data were analyzed with logistic regression, with results presented as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results

Temporary employment involved higher odds of SA (OR=1.21 95% CI=1.04-1.40) compared to full-time employment. Both part-time workers (OR=0.84 95% CI=0.74-0.95) and the self-employed (OR=0.77 95%CI=0.62-0.94) had lower odds of SA. Stratifying by sex showed lower odds for part-timers (OR=0.82 95% CI=0.73-0.94) and self-employed women (OR=0.65 95% CI=0.47-0.90), but higher odds for men in temporary employment (OR=1.33 95% CI=1.03-1.72). Temporary employees in county councils (OR=1.73 95% CI=1.01-2.99) and municipalities (OR=1.41 95% CI=1.02-1.96) had higher odds while part-timers employed in the private sector had lower odds (OR=0.77 95% CI=0.64-0.93). Familial factors did not confound the association between employment type and SA.

Conclusions

Employment type is associated with SA, with temporary employment involving a higher risk compared to permanent full-time employment while both part-time employment and self-employment involved a lower risk. The associations vary between women and men and across sectors.

SUBMITTER: Helgadottir B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6345142 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The association between part-time and temporary employment and sickness absence: a prospective Swedish twin study.

Helgadóttir Björg B Svedberg Pia P Mather Lisa L Lindfors Petra P Bergström Gunnar G Blom Victoria V

European journal of public health 20190201 1

<h4>Background</h4>Sickness absence (SA) is becoming a major economic problem in many countries. Our aim was to investigate whether type of employment, including temporary employment or part-time employment, is associated with SA while controlling for familial factors (genetic and shared environment). Differences between men and women and across employment sectors were explored.<h4>Methods</h4>This is a prospective twin study based on 21 105 twins born in Sweden 1959-85. The participants complet ...[more]

PMID: 30084947

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundLong-term sickness absences burden the economy in many industrialized countries. Both educational attainment and health behaviors are well-known predictors of sickness absence. It remains, however, unclear whether these associations are causal or due to confounding factors. The co-twin control method allows examining causal hypotheses by controlling for familial confounding (shared genes and environment). In this study, we applied this design to study the role of education and health behaviors in sickness absence, taking sex and cohort differences into account.MethodsParticipants were two cohorts of in total 8806 Norwegian twins born 1948 to 1960 (older cohort, mean age at questionnaire = 40.3, 55.8% women), and 1967 to 1979 (younger cohort, mean age at questionnaire = 25.6, 58.9% women). Both cohorts had reported their health behaviors (smoking, physical activity and body mass index (BMI)) through a questionnaire during the 1990s. Data on the twins' educational attainment and long-term sickness absences between 2000 and 2014 were retrieved from Norwegian national registries. Random (individual-level) and fixed (within-twin pair) effects regression models were used to measure the associations between educational attainment, health behaviours and sickness absence and to test the effects of possible familial confounding.ResultsLow education and poor health behaviors were associated with a higher proportion of sickness absence at the individual level. There were stronger effects of health behaviors on sickness absence in women, and in the older cohort, whereas the effect of educational attainment was similar across sex and cohorts. After adjustment for unobserved familial factors (genetic and environmental factors shared by twin pairs), the associations were strongly attenuated and non-significant, with the exception of health behaviors and sickness absence among men in the older cohort.ConclusionsThe associations between educational attainment, health behaviors, and sickness absence seem to be confounded by unobserved familial factors shared by co-twins. However, the association between health behaviors and sickness absence was consistent with a causal effect among men in the older cohort. Future studies should consider familial confounding, as well as sex and age/cohort differences, when assessing associations between education, health behaviors and sickness absence.

Dataset Information

The association between part-time and temporary employment and sickness absence: a prospective Swedish twin study.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The association between part-time and temporary employment and sickness absence: a prospective Swedish twin study.

Similar Datasets

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