Pre-pregnancy mental distress and musculoskeletal pain and sickness absence during pregnancy - a twin cohort study.
Sickness absence (SA) among pregnant women is high. The aim of this study was to examine whether factors known to predict SA in general also predict SA during pregnancy by estimating the association between prior mental distress and musculoskeletal pain and SA during pregnancy, and to assess the influence of familial (genetic and shared environmental) factors. In this prospective cohort study, data from 2076 female twins born 1967-79 who participated in a questionnaire study in 1998 were linked to register data on SA and childbirth during the years 1998-2008. Baseline measures included mental distress (symptoms of anxiety and depression; SCL-5) and musculoskeletal pain (lumbar spine, neck/shoulder and/or persisting muscular pain). SA was measured as a ratio of days on SA divided by potential working days. Negative binomial regression was performed for individual and within-pair effects. Musculoskeletal pain, but not mental distress, was prospectively associated with overall SA during pregnancy in the adjusted individual-level analyses. With each standard deviation increase in musculoskeletal pain, SA granted for any disorder increased with 12% (IRR 1.12, 95% CI = 1.07-1.17) and SA granted for pregnancy related disorders increased with 9% (IRR 1.09, 95% CI = 1.02-1.17). Within-pair estimates were similar, suggesting little or no familial confounding. Women with previous musculoskeletal pain are at increased risk of SA during pregnancy, whereas no increased risk in women with previous symptoms of mental distress could be demonstrated. SA during pregnancy seems partly to be associated with different factors than SA in general.
Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway.
Karoline B
KB
Seglem
Department of Aging and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway.
Ragnhild
R
Ørstavik
Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway.
Fartein A
FA
Torvik
Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway.|Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.
Line C
LC
Gjerde
Department of Child Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway.|Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.
Espen
E
Røysamb
Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway.|Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.
Ted
T
Reichborn-Kjennerud
Department of Health Data and Digitalisation, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway.
Gun Peggy
GP
Knudsen
Department of Aging and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway.
Kristian
K
Tambs
D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult