Leena Kaila-Kangas

• Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

Background . Decreased work ability due to mental disorders is a growing concern in Europe. We studied the role of work-family conflicts in association with long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders (LTSA-MD). Methods . Baseline data were extracted from the Helsinki Health Study for women aged 40 to 55 in full-time work in 2001 − 2002 (N...

https://www.julkari.fi/handle/10024/146367

Thematic session: Remote work and well-being during COVID-19 Authors: Virpi Ruohomäki, Leena Kaila-Kangas and Mirkka Vuorento, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Title of the Abstract: Remote work, satisfaction, and well-being of employees during COVID-19 Research aims and questions During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees were obliged...

Purpose Employers increasingly use ‘return to work’ (RTW) coordinators to support work ability and extend working careers, particularly among employees with reduced work ability. We examined whether applying this model was associated with changes in employee sickness absence and disability retirements. Methods We used data from the Finnish Public S...

Objective An intervention was carried out at the occupational healthcare services (OHS) of the City of Helsinki beginning in 2016. We investigated the association between the intervention and employee sick leaves using interrupted time series analysis. Design Register-based cohort study with a quasi-experimental study design. Setting Employees of...

Objective: This study aimed to examine duration of sickness absence due to knee osteoarthritis (OA) and sustained return to work (RTW) among municipal employees, who had at least one compensated sickness absence period due to knee OA. The contribution of sociodemographic characteristics, diabetes and previous sickness absence were assessed. We dif...

Purpose Alternative duty work is a procedure that enables an employee with a short-term disability to perform modified duties as an alternative to sickness absence. We examined whether the implementation of an alternative duty policy was associated with reduced sickness absence in the Finnish public sector. Methods Two city administrations (A and...

Background A rising number of women will go through menopause while working. We aimed to examine the association of menopausal status with multisite pain and pain interfering with work ability. Methods We analysed cross sectional data collected in the Helsinki Health Study. Female full-time municipal employees aged 45, 50, 55 or 60 years and of at...

Introduction In primary care settings, pain-management group therapy is a tool potentially cost-effective but very much underused. Methods Our purpose here is to provide useful scientific information on the effect of pain-management group participation on chronic pain and pain-related co-morbidities and symptoms, as well as practical information f...

Introduction In primary care settings, pain-management group therapy is a tool potentially cost-effective but very much underused. Methods Our purpose here is to provide useful scientific information on the effect of pain-management group participation on chronic pain and pain-related co-morbidities and symptoms, as well as practical information f...

The contribution of physically demanding work to the developmental trajectories of sickness absence (SA) has seldom been examined. We analyzed the associations of 12 physical work exposures, individually and in combination, with SA trajectories among the occupationally active in the Finnish nationally representative Health 2000 survey. We included...

Background Physical workload factors have been linked to the risk of sickness absence, however, some work exposures can also be protective of work ability. We aimed to first identify sickness absence trajectories in a nationally representative occupational cohort, and second to examine the associations between physical workload factors, potential p...

Long sickness absences pose a considerable burden to the labour market and so- cial welfare system. Health insurance compensates for loss of income when an illness leads to acute work incapacity. In addition to enabling rest and recovery, repeti- tive and prolonged sickness absence may have adverse consequences for the work- er, such as an increas...

Background Previous studies have not distinguished between different alcohol-use histories, which could have contributed to the current inconsistent evidence regarding the relationship between alcohol use and subsequent sickness absence. We thus examined alcohol use and subsequent diagnosis-specific sickness absence in groups with different levels...

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a risk screening tool using a points system to assess the risk of future disability retirement due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Methods: The development population, the Health 2000 Survey, consisted of a nationally representative sample of Finnish employees aged 30–60 years (N=3676) and th...

Background It is important to identify individuals at high risk of work disability and target healthcare interventions at the high risk group. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a novel risk prediction tool using a points system to predict the risk of future disability pension due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Methods T...

Exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) presents an occupational health risk and several safety standards obligate to measure WBV. The high cost of direct measurements in large epidemiological studies raises the question of the optimal sampling for estimating WBV exposures given by a large variation of exposure levels in real worksites. This paper p...

We identified factors protective of all-cause sickness absence (SA) among subjects with multisite musculoskeletal pain (MSP). The nationally representative source sample comprised 3420 actively working Finns aged 30-55 in year 2000 and alive at follow-up. Pain in 18 body locations was combined into four sites (neck, low back, upper limbs, lower lim...

Aim: Although multisite pain (MSP) often threatens work ability (WA), some of those with MSP retain good WA. Our aim was to identify factors associated with good WA among subjects with MSP. Methods: A nationally representative sample (the Health 2000-Study, response rate 87%) comprising 3884 occupationally active Finns aged 30-64 years. Data on...

Musculoskeletal pain at several sites (multisite pain) is more common than single-site pain. Little is known on its effects on disability pension (DP) retirement. A nationally representative sample comprised 4071 Finns in the workforce aged 30 to 63. Data (questionnaire, interview, clinical examination) were gathered in 2000-2001 and linked with na...

To justify alcohol-related health promotion programs and target them at the correct workplaces, it is important to identify occupations with increased risk of severe health outcomes caused by alcohol. Data on hospital admissions (854 555 men and 801 653 women) from the Finnish health care register and data on deaths from Statistics Finland from 1 J...

Occupational psychosocial stress has been identified as a risk factor for obesity, whereas dietary habits have a key role in weight control. We examined whether dietary habits modify the association between occupational psychosocial factors and waist circumference. Data comprised 31-year-old men (n=2222) and women (n=2053) in the Northern Finland B...

To examine the associations between occupational psychosocial factors and obesity among 31-year-olds, adjusting for adolescent body mass index, physical strenuousness of work, and adverse health behaviors (ie, stress-related eating/drinking, leisure-time physical inactivity, smoking, and high alcohol consumption). The study population comprised 208...

Aim: According to previous studies, abstinence from alcohol increases the risk of disability retirement (DR). We studied whether former alcohol users' poor mental or physical health might have contributed to this result. Methods: Prospective population-based study of 3621 occupationally active Finns aged 30-55 years at baseline. Disability pension...

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether low levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] predicts the development of knee or hip OA. Methods: The cohort consisted of 5274 participants in a national health examination survey who had no knee or hip OA at baseline. Information about the incidence of OA was drawn from the Nation...

We studied predictors of sickness absences (SA) due to musculoskeletal pain over two years among 386 municipal female kitchen workers. Pain and SA periods (no/yes) due to pain in seven sites during the past three months were assessed at 3-month intervals over two years by questionnaire. Age, musculoskeletal pain, multisite pain (pain in ≥3 sites),...

Prospective cohort study. To study the associations between strenuous leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and subsequent hospitalization due to back disorders. Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors are associated with back-related hospitalization, but the significance of strenuous LTPA in the working population is unclear. The cohort (n = 902) was...

To examine the relationship of musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms, occurring alone or both together, with self-rated current work ability and thoughts of early retirement. In a nationally representative sample drawn in 2000-2001, we studied actively working subjects aged 30 to 64 years (n = 4009). Musculoskeletal pain was associated with...

We studied the number of musculoskeletal pain sites as a predictor of sickness absence during a 7-year follow-up among a nationally representative sample (the Health 2000 survey) of occupationally active Finns 30 to 55years of age (3420 subjects who did not retire or die during the follow-up). Baseline data (questionnaire, interview, clinical exami...

Objective: Previously we reported that early part-time sick leave enhances return to work (RTW) among employees with musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). This paper assesses the health-related effects of this intervention. Methods: Patients aged 18-60 years who were unable to perform their regular work due to MSD were randomized to part- or full-tim...

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of early part-time sick leave on return to work (RTW) and sickness absence among patients with musculoskeletal disorders. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in six occupational health units of medium- and large-size enterprises. Patients aged 18-60 years with musculoskeletal disorders (N=...

We reviewed work histories of manual handling of loads >20 kg in relation to hip osteoarthritis by age, exposure and work participation. A nationally representative sample of 3110 Finnish men and 3446 women aged 30-97 was recruited. Diagnosis of hip osteoarthritis was based on standardised clinical examination by trained physicians. Previous exposu...

Introduction We investigated whether self-perceived work ability related to co-occurring musculoskeletal and mental symptoms has changed over time. Methods Five cross-sectional telephone surveys were conducted triennially in 1997–2009 among representative samples of working Finns (n=2000–2400/survey year, total N=11 000). The risk of reduced work a...

Population-based cross-sectional study of clinically assessed low back syndromes. To investigate whether exposure to professional car driving, either alone or in combination with strenuous physical work is associated with clinically defined sciatica or other clinically diagnosed chronic low back syndromes. Several studies have found an association...

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an ergonomic intervention on pain and sickness absence caused by upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders. In this randomized controlled study, subjects aged 18-60 years (N=177) seeking medical advice due to upper-extremity symptoms were included if their symptoms, or the exacerbation of symptoms,...

Musculoskeletal pain often occurs at multiple sites concurrently. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between multi-site pain and self-rated work ability and retirement plans among actively working people. The Health 2000 Survey was carried among a representative sample of Finnish adults. Musculoskeletal pain during the preceding...

Cross-sectional study with retrospectively assessed work determinants. To study the association between the history of physically demanding work and sciatica, among the occupationally active, and among persons of working age who are not occupationally active. Few studies have examined the association of physically loading work with sciatica, and st...

Atherosclerosis of arteries supplying the lumbar region has been suggested as a mechanism leading to intervertebral disc degeneration and sciatica. The study described here examined whether serum lipid levels or pharmacologically treated hyperlipidemia were associated with sciatica. A nationally representative sample (n=8028) of Finns aged 30 years...

Longitudinal studies observing working conditions and weight gain are rare. We aimed to study whether weight gain can be predicted by working conditions or changes in them in a 28-year follow-up. The study population consisted of working-aged industrial employees (n = 449). Data on height and weight were collected in clinical examinations in 1973,...

The importance of staying active instead of bed rest has been acknowledged in the management of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This emphasizes the potential benefits of adjusting work to fit the employee's remaining work ability. Despite part-time sick leave being an official option in many countries, its effectiveness has not been studied yet....

Little is known about the effect of fibromyalgia on absence due to sickness in working populations. To examine the risk of absence due to sickness among employees with fibromyalgia. A prospective cohort study with 1-year follow-up of recorded and certified absence due to sickness after a survey of chronic diseases among 34 100 Finnish public sector...

The aim of the study was to examine the stability of voluntary and household physical activity (PA) and to compare it with that of the use of the most common stimulants. The prospective cohort study comprised of follow-ups at 5, 10, and 28 years at baseline in 1973 in four plants of an industrial corporation in Finland. A systematic, non-proportion...

A chronic lack of recovery from work during leisure time is hypothesized to indicate a health risk among employees. We examined whether incomplete recovery from work predicted cardiovascular mortality. This prospective cohort study involved 788 industrial employees (534 men, 254 women, mean age 37.3, SD = 12.0) who were initially free from cardiova...

Cohort study with 5-, 10-, and 28-year follow-up. To examine associations between baseline serum lipid concentrations and later low back pain (LBP). Atherosclerosis of the lumbar vessels has been suggested as a mechanism leading to disc degeneration and LBP. Cholesterol is considered essential for atherosclerosis development. A sample (n = 902) of...

To study the socioeconomic distribution of severe back morbidity by age and gender, and to examine to what extent the differences in back morbidity between socioeconomic groups are particularly related to manual work in different age groups. Hospital admissions in 1996 for back disorders of 25-64 year old men (3123 of a total 743,961) and women (30...

A prospective cohort study. To study the relationship of sleep disturbances with severe back disorders leading to hospitalization. Sleep disturbances are associated with persistent pain syndromes, but little is known about their relationship with back disorders. The first hospital admission for back disorders from 1973 to 2000 was studied in a coho...

The aim of this dissertation was to examine the determinants of severe back disorders leading to hospital admission in Finland. First, back-related hospitalisations were considered from the perspective of socioeconomic status, occupation, and industry. Secondly, the significance of psychosocial factors at work, sleep disturbances, and such lifestyl...

Prospective cohort study. To study symptoms, chronic disorders, and clinical findings in the low back, and work absenteeism, as predictors of hospitalization. Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors are associated with back-related hospitalization, but the significance in the working normal population of low back symptoms and clinical findings are not...

Low back disorders are among the most common health problems in industrialized societies. We examined the relationship between occupational exposures and severe lumbar intervertebral disc disorders (LIDD). Information on inpatient care for LIDD (ICD-10: M51.1-51.9) in Finnish hospitals during 1996 was linked with the 1995 Population Census, and bas...

A prospective cohort study. To study the association of psychosocial factors at work with severe back disorders leading to hospitalization. Some psychosocial factors at work have been related to back pain, but little is known about their predictive role in severe back disorders. Psychosocial factors at work were studied by questionnaire and intervi...

A prospective cohort study. To study the relationship of smoking and overweight with severe back disorders leading to hospitalization. Many epidemiological studies have shown an association between smoking or overweight and back pain, but the results are still equivocal. Longitudinal studies are few. A cohort of metal industry employees (n = 902) w...

The variation in hospital admission rates was studied for back disorders by industry and occupational title among gainfully employed Finns. Admissions to Finnish hospitals in 1996 among 25- to 64-year-olds, based on the Hospital Discharge Register, were linked with sociodemographic data from the 1995 population census for the following primary diag...

The object of the study was to describe socioeconomic and demographic determinants of inpatient hospital care for lumbar intervertebral disc disorders (LIDD) in Finland. Information from the 1996 Finnish Hospital Discharge Register was linked with the 1995 Population Census. Poisson regression analyses were made with the total and the gainfully emp...