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Self-rated work ability as a risk factor for disability retirement
Sakari Kainulainen1, Marko Elovainio2,3,4, Mikko Laaksonen5
1Diaconia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland.
European Journal of Public Health
|July 13, 2023
Summary
Assessing self-rated work ability (SRWA) effectively predicts disability retirement. Poor or limited SRWA significantly increases the risk of leaving work compared to good SRWA.
Area of Science:
- Occupational health
- Public health research
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Need for simple, efficient survey measures to predict work participation.
- Examined self-rated work ability (SRWA) association with disability retirement.
- Compared SRWA to work ability score (WAS) and self-rated health (SRH).
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate the predictive validity of SRWA for disability retirement.
- Compare SRWA's predictive power against WAS and SRH.
- Determine the utility of SRWA in population-based surveys.
Main Methods:
- Utilized pooled data from 6034 participants (aged 35-58) of Health 2000 and FinHealth 2017 cohorts.
- Categorized SRWA, WAS, and SRH as poor, limited, or good.
- Analyzed 36-month follow-up data for disability retirement via electronic records linkage.
Main Results:
- All three measures strongly predicted disability retirement.
- Poor SRWA showed a hazard ratio (HR) of 8.48 (vs. good), WAS 7.99, and SRH 5.96.
- Limited SRWA had an HR of 4.35 (vs. good), WAS 3.54, and SRH 2.27.
- Covariate adjustment (gender, age, education, mental health) reduced but did not eliminate prediction differences.
Conclusions:
- Limited or poor self-rated work ability and health are significant predictors of disability retirement.
- The single-item self-rated work ability (SRWA) measure is a valuable tool for community-based surveys.
- SRWA provides a simple yet effective method for assessing work ability relevant to retirement.
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