Subjective cognitive complaints and permanent work disability: a prospective cohort study.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health
; 94(5): 901-910, 2021 Jul.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33462663
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Work disability (WD) is a medico-legal concept that refers to disability benefits (DB) granted due to diseases. We assessed whether subjective cognitive complaints (SCC)-presenting as self-rated difficulties of concentration, memory, clear thinking, and decision making-predict permanent WD in knowledge-intensive occupations.METHODS:
In this prospective cohort study with up to 7-year follow-up, we combined the SCC questionnaire results with reliable registry data on the DBs of 7161 professional/managerial employees (46% females). We excluded employees who were on long-term sickness absence (SA) or had received a DB at baseline. The exposure variable was the presence of SCC. Age and SA before the questionnaire as a proxy measure of general health were treated as confounders and the analyses were conducted by gender. The outcome variable was a granted DB. The cumulative incidence function illustrates the difference between SCC categories, and the Fine-Gray model estimates the predictors of WD during the 8-year follow-up.RESULTS:
The annual incidence of DB was 0.15% in the entire cohort 0.18% among the females, and 0.12% among the males (p = 0.795). The most common primary reasons for permanent WD were mental (36%) and musculoskeletal (20%) disorders. SCC predicted DB in both genders when controlling for age and prior SA. Hazard ratios were 2.9 with a 95% confidence interval 1.4-6.0 for the females and 3.7 (1.8-7.9) for the males.CONCLUSION:
Subjective cognitive complaints predict permanent WD in knowledge-intensive occupations. This finding has implications for supporting work ability and preventing work disability among employees with cognitively demanding tasks.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Trastornos del Conocimiento
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Ausencia por Enfermedad
/
Seguro por Discapacidad
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Int Arch Occup Environ Health
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Finlandia