[Sickness absence incidence in Norway 1975-2002]

The aim of the present paper is to describe the sickness absence incidence in Norway after the introduction of the present sickness absence benefit scheme in 1978.

Data on sickness absence from the National Insurance Administration), Statistics Norway and the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (the employers' federation) are presented and discussed.

The incidence of short-term absence has changed very modestly since the present system with self-certification of absence of 1 to 3 days was introduced. Long-term sickness absence was at its lowest levels in 1983 and 1994, coinciding with peaks of unemployment in Norway. From 1995 there has been a rather steep increase in sickness absence; in 2002 the Insurance Administration recorded the highest figures for sickness absence ever. Mean number of sickness absence days among all employed persons compensated by the Insurance Administration (only spells > 16 days) was 10.6 days for men and 16.7 days for women in 2002. The data from the employers' federation, however, indicate that sickness absence levels for male workers in private sector were still below the levels recorded in the 1970s. Mental disorders are an increasing reason for sickness absence in Norway and have contributed to an increase in mean duration of sickness absence spells. More epidemiological research on sickness absence in Norway is needed.