Can a Healthy Lifestyle Prevent Disability Pension among Female Healthcare Workers with Good and Poor Self-Rated Health? Prospective Cohort Study with 11-Year Register Follow-Up

Álvaro Morera, Joaquín Calatayud*, Rubén López-Bueno, José Casaña, Jonas Vinstrup, Rúni Bláfoss, Thomas Clausen, Lars Louis Andersen

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Our purpose was to investigate whether healthy lifestyle habits prevent disability pension among female healthcare workers. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study with an 11-year register follow-up in which 8159 female healthcare workers from Denmark completed a questionnaire concerning self-rated health, work environment, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), smoking, and body mass index (BMI). Data on disability benefit payments were obtained from the Danish Register for Evaluation of Marginalization during an 11-year follow-up. Potential confounders included age, occupational education, psychosocial work factors, and physical exertion during work. RESULTS: Among workers in good health at baseline, smoking, obesity, and low levels of LTPA were risk factors for disability pension during 11-year follow-up. Among workers with poor health, only low levels of physical activity were a risk factor for disability pension. CONCLUSIONS: This underscores the importance of a healthy lifestyle, specially being physically active, for preventing premature exit from the labor market in female healthcare workers.

Original languageEnglish
Article number10631
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume19
Issue number17
ISSN1661-7827
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1. Sept 2022

Keywords

  • BMI
  • disability pensions
  • healthcare workers
  • physical activity
  • smoking

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