title: Effectiveness of multidisciplinary early rehabilitation in reducing behaviour-related risk factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of a 4-week primary prevention programme on health-risk behaviours amongst employees at increased risk of work incapacity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on survey data and health records from 53,416 public sector employees in Finland, we identified 872 employees who participated in early rehabilitation after the baseline survey. We selected 2,440 propensity-score-matched controls for these rehabilitants. Changes in the prevalence of physical inactivity, obesity, heavy drinking, and smoking, as well as in the intensity of leisure-time physical activity, weight, and alcohol consumption after the intervention were examined between the baseline and two subsequent surveys representing short-term (mean follow-up 1.7 years) and long-term (mean 5.8 years) follow-ups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no statistically significant differences between the rehabilitants and controls in terms of changes in weight, alcohol consumption, intensity of leisure-time physical activity, or prevalence of obesity, heavy drinking and physical inactivity during short-term or long-term follow-ups. During short-term follow-up, a higher rate of smoking cessation was observed for rehabilitants than controls (31.7% vs. 20.2%, p = 0.037).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vocationally oriented multidisciplinary early rehabilitation had little effect on health risk behaviours.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Turku University Hospital, 20521 Turku, Finland. mikhail.saltychev@gmail.com
authors.forename: Mikhail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saltychev
authors.forename: Katri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Laimi
authors.forename: Ashraf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El-Metwally
authors.forename: Tuula
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oksanen
authors.forename: Jaana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pentti
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Virtanen
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kouvonen
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kivimäki
authors.forename: Jussi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vahtera
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001835:Body Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011322:Primary Prevention; D015397:Program Evaluation; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012309:Risk-Taking; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012907:Smoking; D016540:Smoking Cessation