Work and family characteristics as socioeconomic determinants in long sickness absence: the Japanese civil servants study

Long sickness absence is more common among low socioeconomic status (SES) groups than high SES groups. This study aimed to evaluate whether work and family characteristics contribute to SES and sex differences in long sickness absence (7 days or more). The participants were 3080 civil servants worki...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Industrial Health 2021/10/15, Vol.60(2), pp.164-175
Main Authors: NOSE, Saori, SEKINE, Michikazu, TATSUSE, Takashi, YAMADA, Masaaki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Civil service
Confidence intervals
Demographic aspects
Economic aspects
Employees
Family characteristics
Gender aspects
Gender differences
Grade of employment
Health aspects
Illnesses
Influence
Job stress
Original
Sex differences
Sick leave
Sickness absence
Sleep
Social aspects
Social classes
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic status
Socioeconomics
Statistical analysis
The JACS study
Work and family
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Summary:Long sickness absence is more common among low socioeconomic status (SES) groups than high SES groups. This study aimed to evaluate whether work and family characteristics contribute to SES and sex differences in long sickness absence (7 days or more). The participants were 3080 civil servants working for a local Japanese government. In both sexes, low-grade employees were likely to take long sickness absence, with a statistically significant association for men (age-adjusted OR of lowest-grade employees for long sickness absence: 2.30 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.32–4.02)). After adjusting for all variables, SES differences in long sickness absence in men decreased to OR 1.98 (CI 1.10–3.55) but remained significant; in men, being without a spouse was significantly associated with long sickness absence. Employees working long hours had lower OR for long sickness absence after adjusting for all variables in both sexes. Conversely, poor sleep quality and longstanding illness significantly increased OR for long sickness absence. In conclusion, SES differences in sickness absence were explained partly by work and family characteristics, longstanding illness, and poor sleep quality; however, other factors that were not evaluated in this study may also be associated with SES differences.
ISSN:0019-8366
1880-8026
DOI:10.2486/indhealth.2020-0234