Examining the characteristics of patients with long-term impaired work ability in primary health care - a cross-sectional study.
Märit Löfgren, Lena Nordeman, Nashmil Ariai et al.
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In 30 seconds
This cross-sectional study described 243 primary healthcare patients in Sweden with recurrent or long-term sick leave or health-related unemployment, recruited through a cluster-randomized trial across 40 primary care centres. Participants had low perceived work ability and extremely low health-related quality of life, alongside substantial anxiety, exhaustion, and pain-related risk of prolonged sick leave. Mean recorded sick days were 1,215 (SD 1,010), and 67.9% were on full-time sick leave. Sense of coherence correlated with several health and work-related measures, but not with sick-leave duration or rehabilitation participation.
Key findings
- Mean sick days were 1,215 (SD 1,010); 67.9% of participants were on full-time sick leave.
- Participants reported extremely low health-related quality of life, low perceived work ability, and substantial anxiety and exhaustion.
- Sense of coherence correlated with health literacy, health-related quality of life, mental-health symptoms, perceived work ability, and pain (all p < 0.001).
- Sense of coherence was not correlated with sick-leave duration or participation in rehabilitation.
Why it matters
The findings portray a group experiencing substantial health and functional burden alongside prolonged work absence. The associations between sense of coherence and several health-related measures suggest that patients’ perceived capacity to manage challenges may be relevant to understanding their broader health and work situation. The cross-sectional results describe co-occurrence, not causal pathways.
What to keep in mind
The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or determine how characteristics change over time.