Place of residence as a correlate of sickness absence in Sweden

A postal questionnaire was sent to 1500 randomly selected men and women aged 20-64 years living in three sparsely populated municipalities in northern Sweden with high rates of sickness absence, and to 1000 corresponding inhabitants in the Swedish capital Stockholm with a low rate of sickness absence. The proportion of participants aged >= 45 years was higher and incomes were lower in municipalities with high rates of sickness absence. In multiple logistic regression analyses with age, education, income, somatic health, mental health, pain and place of residence as independent variables, significant correlates of sick listing in men were: age >= 45 years (odds ratio 5.0; 95% confidence interval 2.4-10.3), poor somatic health (5.4; 2.6-11.0) and severe musculoskeletal pain (4.7; 2.4-9.1); and in women: age >= 45 years (2.6; 1.5-4.8), poor somatic health (12.2; 6.1-24.4), poor mental health (4.5; 2.0-10.1) and severe musculoskeletal pain (5.4; 2.7-10.5). Mental health was deleted by the logistic model for men, and income, education and place of residence for both sexes. We conclude that no support was found for the assumption that factors attributable to place of residence could explain the regional differences in sickness absence.