[Musculoskeletal disease and sick-leave]

Complaints due to the musculoskeletal system comprise the largest group of diagnoses associated with annual sick payment. We have studied how musculoskeletal complaints predict prolonged sick-leave in a normal population in general and after adjusting for individual confounding factors in the age-group from 40 to 50 years.

The study is based on information from 14 058 women and men aged 40 - 45 years, who participated in the Hordaland Health Study (HUSK) 1997 - 1999. Follow-up data were retrieved from the Norwegian Social Science Data Services on sick- leave from 6 months after the health examination until the end of 2004. A cumulative sick-leave of more than 40 days was considered high.

41 % of the respondents had musculoskeletal complaints for at least 3 months before the health assessment. The following groups had the highest risk of musculoskeletal complaints and subsequent high sick-leave: women in general and persons with little education, psychiatric complaints, low self-reported health and those who do not exercise strenuously on a regular basis. After adjustment for individual factors (sex, education, psychiatric complaints and self-reported health), persons who had suffered from long-standing pain or stiffness had an almost doubled (OR 1.9, 95 % CI 1.7 - 2.0) risk of later high sick-leave. Widespread pain increased the risk for sick-leave even more.

Musculoskeletal complaints are an independent predictor for future sick-leave.