Working While Ill as a Risk Factor for Serious Coronary Events: The Whitehall II Study
Mika Kivimäki, PhD,
Jenny Head, MSc,
Jane E. Ferrie, PhD,
Harry Hemingway, MD,
Martin J. Shipley, MSc,
Jussi Vahtera, MD and
Michael G. Marmot, FFPHM
Mika Kivimäki and Jussi Vahtera are with the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki and Turku, Finland. Mika Kivimäki is also with the Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki. Jenny Head, Jane E. Ferrie, Harry Hemingway, Martin J. Shipley, and Michael G. Marmot are with the International Centre for Health and Society, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Mika Kivimäki, PhD, Department of Psychology, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 aA, FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland (e-mail: mika.kivimaki{at}ttl.fi).
Objectives. Although sick, some people take no time off work,a phenomenon called "sickness presenteeism." This study examinedthe association between sickness presenteeism and incidenceof serious coronary events.
Methods. The analyses were based on a cohort of 5071 male Britishcivil servants without previous myocardial infarction. Baselinescreening included measurements of health status and coronaryrisk factors. Absence records were assessed for the 3 yearssubsequent to baseline screening. The outcome of interest wasincident nonfatal myocardial infarction or fatal coronary heartdisease (mean length of follow-up=9.1 years).
Results. Seventeen percent of unhealthy employees took no absenceduring the 3-year follow-up. Their incidence of serious coronaryevents was twice as high as that of the unhealthy employeeswith moderate levels of sickness absenteeism (after adjustmentfor conventional risk factors, hazard ratio 1.97, 95% confidenceinterval=1.02, 3.83).
Conclusions. Employers and employees should be aware of thepotential harmful effects caused by sickness presenteeism.
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