The use of analgesics and hypnotics in relation to self-rated health and disability pension--a prospective study of middle-aged men.
OBJECTIVE
This cohort study on urban middle-aged men investigates the association between the use of analgesics and hypnotics, self-rated health (SRH) and disability pension.


METHODS
Five birth-year cohorts of middle-aged, urban, Swedish men were invited to a screening programme and were followed for approximately 11 years.


RESULTS
Out of all the subjects (n = 5798), 12.4% received a disability pension during follow-up, 27.0% rated their health as less than perfect, 10.6% used analgesics and 2.9% used hypnotics. Compared with non-users of analgesics and hypnotics, the adjusted hazard ratio of disability pension for the simultaneous use of both drugs was 7.0 (95% CI: 4.3, 11.6) and the adjusted odds ratio of poor SRH was 16.5 (6.3, 43.5). Thus, the use of analgesics and hypnotics was positively related to poor SRH and predicted award of a disability pension within an 11-year follow-up. This may reflect that the use of analgesics and hypnotics is a proxy of disease but an independent negative effect on health cannot be excluded.


CONCLUSIONS
Information on the use of these drugs could be used to predict the award of a disability pension, such as in different geographical areas or population groups.
Månsson
N O
NO
Department of Community Medicine, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, Sweden. nils-ove.mansson@smi.mas.lu.se
Merlo
J
J
Ostergren
P O
PO
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010415:Pensions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012647:Self-Assessment; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
D000700:Analgesics; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives