Unemployment among long-term sick-listed persons. from the project Evaluation of Follow-up of Long-term Sick-listed Persons
Berg, J.E.; Tellnes, G.
Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening Tidsskrift for Praktisk Medicin Ny Raekke 112(2): 218-221
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0029-2001 PMID: 1566255 Document Number: 395296
The aim of the study was to compare two subgroups of patients with long-term sickness certificate, i.e. a group who were unemployed after eight weeks of incapacity for work and a group who still had a paid job at the end of the eight weeks. 712 patients who received a medical certificate II after eight weeks of incapacity for work in 1988 were followed up for another 12-15 months by means of information collected as a routine at the local National Insurance Offices in five municipalities in Norway. Of our total sample of patients, the sub-group of unemployed persons differed in a number of ways from the group who still had a job. Among the unemployed the duration of sickness certificate was longer and there were higher frequencies of mental disorders and diseases of the nervous system/sense organs. Admission to hospital was less frequent, however, among the unemployed group than among the group who still had a job. The rate of return-to-work observed after one year of sickness certificate was lower among the unemployed.