Is There an Association between Long-Term Sick Leave and Disability Pension and Unemployment beyond the Effect of Health Status? – A Cohort Study

The objective of this study was to investigate whether there is an association between long-term sick leave and disability pension and unemployment, when taking health status into account.Having been on long-term sick leave increased the risk of disability pension (HR 4.01; 95% CI 3.19–5.05) and long-term unemployment (HR 1.45; 95% CI 1.05–2.00), after adjustment for health status. The analyses of long-term sick leave due to specific illness showed that the increased risk for long-term unemployment was confined to the group on sick leave due to musculoskeletal (HR 1.70 95% CI 1.00–2.89) and mental illness (HR 1.80 95% CI 1.13–2.88) and further that there was an increased risk for short-term unemployment in the group on sick leave due to mental illness (HR1.57 95%CI 1.09–2.26).Long-term sick leave increases the risks of both disability pension and unemployment even when taking health status into account. The results support the hypothesis that long-term sick leave may start a process of marginalization from the labor market