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Alcohol intake and sickness absence: a curvilinear relation
Jussi Vahtera1, Kari Poikolainen, Mika Kivimäki
1Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Turku, Finland. jussi.vahtera@ttl.fi
American Journal of Epidemiology
|November 7, 2002
Summary
Moderate alcohol consumption is linked to fewer sick days. Both never and heavy drinkers experienced 1.2-fold higher medically certified sickness absence compared to light drinkers, suggesting a U-shaped health-absence relationship.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The relationship between alcohol consumption and health outcomes is complex and not fully understood, particularly beyond cardiovascular disease.
- Medically certified sickness absence serves as a crucial health indicator, encompassing all causes of leave from work.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between varying levels of alcohol intake and medically certified sickness absence.
- To explore the U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and overall health, using sickness absence as the primary metric.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study of 6,442 Finnish municipal employees (1,490 men, 4,952 women) was conducted over four years (1997-2000).
- Hierarchical Poisson regression analysis was employed to assess the relationship between average weekly alcohol consumption and sickness absence.
- Data were adjusted for behavioral, biological, psychosocial risk factors, and cardiovascular diseases.
Main Results:
- A significant U-shaped (curvilinear) trend was observed between average weekly alcohol consumption and medically certified sickness absence for both men and women.
- Never, former, and heavy alcohol drinkers exhibited a 1.2-fold higher rate of sickness absence compared to light drinkers (95% CI: 1.1, 1.3).
- The observed U-shaped relationship was not attributable to confounding factors like psychosocial differences or the categorization of former drinkers.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that moderate alcohol consumption may be associated with reduced health problems, extending beyond cardiovascular benefits.
- The U-shaped curve indicates that both abstention and heavy drinking are linked to increased sickness absence, highlighting potential risks at both extremes of alcohol consumption.