Poor work ability increases sickness absence over 10 years

Little is known about the predictive value of single items from the work ability index (WAI) on the risk of sickness absence over several years, and whether such risk varies across age groups.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether poor self-perceived physical and mental work ability among employees in the public sector are associated with long-term sickness absence over a 10-year period.

The study was based on a prospective cohort of employees within the public sector in Sweden reporting 'good health for working'. Baseline information was collected with questionnaires from 2000 to 2003. Poor physical and mental work ability in relation to work demands were assessed with two items from the WAI. The outcome was the number of years of long-term sickness absence between 2003 and 2012. Long-term sickness absence was defined as ≥28 days of sickness and this information was retrieved from Swedish National Registers. Crude and adjusted incidence rate ratios were calculated with analyses stratified by age.

Compared with those reporting very good physical work ability, employees reporting any lower grade of physical work ability had a higher risk of long-term sickness absence across all age strata, with higher risk estimates in the highest age groups and 6-fold increased risk in the oldest age group. Similar results were found for mental work ability with an almost 4-fold increased risk in the highest age group.

Self-reported physical and mental poor work ability are associated with long-term sickness absence during the subsequent 10 years. The risk increases with age.