Treatment interruption is a risk factor for sickness presenteeism: A large‐scale cross‐sectional study during the COVID‐19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship between interruption to routine medical care during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and sickness presenteeism among workers in Japan. METHODS: A cross‐sectional study using data obtained from an internet monitor questionnaire was conducted. Interruption to medical care was defined based on the response “I have not been able to go to the hospital or receive treatment as scheduled.” The fraction of sickness presenteeism days in the past 30 days was employed as the primary outcome. A fractional logit model was used for analysis to treat bounded data. RESULTS: Of the 27 036 participants, 17 526 (65%) were workers who did not require routine medical care, 8451 (31%) were using medical care as scheduled, and 1059 (4%) experienced interrupted medical care. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of sickness presenteeism was significantly higher among workers who experienced interrupted medical care (3.44; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.04–3.89) than those who did not require routine medical care. In terms of symptoms, the highest aOR was observed among workers with mental health symptoms (aOR: 5.59, 95% CI: 5.04–6.20). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests the importance of continuing necessary treatment during a pandemic to prevent presenteeism.