Educational differences in years of working life lost due to disability retirement.

Background: To assess the contribution of disability retirement on lost working years, we calculated the length of time spent on disability pension in various diagnostic groups by the level of education over the past 10 years, during which time the incidence of disability retirement has sharply decreased in Finland. Methods: The expectancy for time on disability pension due to mental disorders, musculoskeletal diseases, cardiovascular diseases and other diseases at age groups 25-63 was calculated using the Sullivan method based on nationwide register data for 2005-2014. The effect of the rise in overall education levels was estimated using counterfactual analysis. Results: Time spent on disability pension differed widely between educational groups. People in lower educational groups spent more time on disability pension due to all diagnoses and musculoskeletal diseases in particular. Time spent on disability pension decreased in all educational groups over time. In 2014, primary educated men were expected to spend 2.67 years on disability pension, compared to 0.57 years for higher tertiary educated men. The figures for women were closely similar. Educational differences in time spent on disability pension due to somatic diseases decreased over time, whereas the opposite was true for mental disorders. The reduced amount of time spent on disability pension was explained in part by the rise in overall education levels. Conclusions: Time spent on disability pension due to somatic conditions has decreased in all educational groups. Educational differences in time spent on disability pension are increasingly attributable to mental disorders.