Sickness absence after work injuries and post-traumatic stress among white-collar workers

BACKGROUND: There is very little knowledge about sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP) after work injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among white collar workers. The aim was to examine diagnosis-specific SA and DP after healthcare due to a workplace injury and PTSD, respectively, among white-collar workers in the wholesale and retail industry in Sweden. METHODS: A prospective population-based cohort study of all 192,077 such white-collar workers (44% women) in Sweden in 2012, using linked microdata from three nationwide registers covering 2012-2016. We identified individuals who had specialised out- or inpatient healthcare due to a work injury (n = 1114) or to PTSD (n = 216) in the years 2012-2016. Their average number of net days of diagnosis-specific SA and DP was calculated for the 365 days before and 365 days after the healthcare visit. RESULTS: 64% of women and 45% of the men had at least one new SA spell during the 365 days after healthcare due to a work injury. On average, women had 14 SA/DP days the year before the injury and 31 days after; corresponding days for men were 9 and 21 days. SA days with fractures and with other injuries increased most, while SA days with mental diagnoses increased slightly. In the PTSD group, 80% of women and 65% of men had a new SA spell. Women's SA/DP days increased from 121 to 157 and men's from 112 to 174. SA with stress-related disorders and other mental diagnoses increased most, while DP with stress-related diagnoses and SA with musculoskeletal diagnoses increased slightly. CONCLUSIONS: About half of those who had healthcare due to work injuries, and the majority of those who had PTSD, had new SA following the healthcare. SA due to diagnoses related to injury and mental diagnoses, respectively, increased most, however, SA/DP days due to other diagnoses also increased slightly. More knowledge is needed on factors associated with having or not having SA/DP with different diagnoses after work injuries and PTSD. KEY MESSAGES: • About half of those who had specialised healthcare due to work injuries, and the majority of those who had PTSD, had new SA in the following 365 days. • Individuals with healthcare for PTSD had more SA/DP days both before and after their healthcare visit than those with work injuries, but individuals with work injuries had a larger increase.