Risk factors for disability pension over 11 years in a cohort of young persons initially sick-listed with low back, neck, or shoulder diagnoses.
OBJECTIVE
A study was undertaken to ascertain whether the differences in risk in relation to gender and citizenship observed in a previous study of the same cohort would remain if more recent data on sickness absence were used.


METHODS
This was an 11-year prospective population-based cohort study. The dataset includes all individuals in a Swedish city who, in 1985, were aged 25-34 and had a sick-leave spell > or = 28 days with neck, shoulder, or back diagnoses (n=213). The data covered the following: for 1985-96, disability pension, emigration, and death; for 1982-96, sickness absence; for 1985, sex and citizenship. The data were subjected to Cox regression analyses with a time-dependent covariate.


RESULTS
Disability pension was granted to 22% (n=46) of the cohort. The relative risk for disability pension increased by 9.3 with each sick-leave spell > or = 90 days during the two previous years. The risk was higher for women than men, and also higher for foreign citizens than Swedes.


CONCLUSIONS
Many studies have revealed a gender difference in the risk of being on disability pension, and it was found that this difference was still apparent when sick leave during the follow-up period is taken into account. Thus, the reason for the gender differences ought to be found among other factors than prior levels of sickness absence.
Borg
Karin
K
Division of Social Medicine and Public Health Science, Department of Health and Society, Linköpings universitet, Sweden. karin.borg@ins.liu.se
Hensing
Gunnel
G
Alexanderson
Kristina
K
D015331:Cohort Studies; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018868:Insurance, Disability; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D010415:Pensions; D012307:Risk Factors; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology