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Effect of Psychosocial Work Environment on Sickness Absence Among Patients Treated for Ischemic Heart Disease

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Abstract

Introduction During the last decades mortality has declined in patients with coronary heart disease due to improvements in treatments and changes in life style, resulting in more people living with chronic heart disease. This implies that focus on rehabilitation and re-integration to the work-force becomes increasingly important. Previous studies among healthy workers suggest that the psychosocial working environment is associated with sickness absence. Whether the psychosocial working environment plays a role for patients with existing cardiovascular disease on return to work and sickness absence is less studied. Methods A cohort of patients under 67 years and treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was established in 2006. Three months after the procedure the patients (n = 625) answered a questionnaire about their psychosocial working environment. Patients were followed in registers for the following year. We examined the association between psychosocial working environment and sickness absence at 3 months, 1 year and new sick-listings during the first year with logistic regression. Results A total of 528 patients had returned to work 3 months after the PCI, while 97 was still sick-listed. After 1 year one was dead, 465 were working and 85 were receiving health related benefits, while 74 had left the workforce permanently. A number of 106 patients were sick-listed during the whole first year or had left the workforce permanently. After the initial return to work, 90 experienced a new sickness absence during the first year while the remaining 429 did not. High work pace, low commitment to the workplace, low recognition (rewards) and low job control were associated with sickness absence at 3 months, but not after 1 year. Low job control as well as job strain (combination of high demands and low control) was associated with new sick-listings. Conclusion The psychosocial working environment was associated with sickness absence 3 months after the PCI, but not 1 year after.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by The Danish Heart Association, The Danish Working Environment Research Fund and The Western Denmark Research Forum for Health Research. The Danish Data Protection Agency approved the study, Ref. # 2007-41-0991. According to Danish law, approval by the Ethics committee and written informed consent is not required in questionnaire-based and register-based projects. Additional information is available at The National Committee on Health Research Ethics´s webpage in the “Act on Research Ethics Review of Health Research Projects” § 14,2. available from: http://www.cvk.sum.dk/English/actonabiomedicalresearch.aspx.

Conflict of interest

Authors Karin Biering, Thomas Lund, Johan Hviid Andersen and Niels Henrik Hjollund declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational Medicine, Danish Ramazzini Centre, University Research Clinic, Regional Hospital West Jutland, 7400, Herning, Denmark

    Karin Biering, Thomas Lund, Johan Hviid Andersen & Niels Henrik Hjollund

  2. National Centre for Occupational Rehabilitation, Rauland, Norway

    Thomas Lund

  3. Research and Development, Public Health and Quality Improvement, Central Denmark Region, MarselisborgCentret, Århus, Denmark

    Thomas Lund

  4. WestChronic, Regional Hospital West Jutland, Herning, Denmark

    Niels Henrik Hjollund

  5. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Århus, Denmark

    Niels Henrik Hjollund

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  1. Karin Biering
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Correspondence to Karin Biering.

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Biering, K., Lund, T., Andersen, J.H. et al. Effect of Psychosocial Work Environment on Sickness Absence Among Patients Treated for Ischemic Heart Disease. J Occup Rehabil 25, 776–782 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-015-9587-0

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