HR (95% CI) for return to work after sickness absence in relation to socioeconomic and clinical factors among 4343 patients aged 18–63 diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the years 2001–2009, and part of the workforce at the time of follow-up
| Sickness | absence→work | HR—unadjusted (events: 2125) | HR—adjusted for SES† | HR—adjusted for SES† and confounders‡ | HR—adjusted for SES†, confounders and clinical variables |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | ||||
| Primary school | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Vocational and short-term education | 0.87 (0.76 to 0.98) | 0.91 (0.79 to 1.05) | 0.91 (0.78 to 1.04) | 0.92 (0.79 to 1.06) |
| Medium-term and long–term education | 1.01 (0.91 to 1.13) | 1.09 (0.96 to 1.24) | 1.08 (0.95 to 1.23) | 1.06 (0.93 to 1.21) |
| Disposal income§ | ||||
| Lowest quartile | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Second lowest quartile | 1.11 (0.97 to 1.26) | 1.03 (0.90 to 1.17) | 1.01 (0.88 to 1.15) | 1.07 (0.94 to 1.22) |
| Second highest quartile | 1.27 (1.12 to 1.44)* | 1.14 (1.00 to 1.29) | 1.12 (0.98 to 1.27) | 1.15 (1.00 to 1.31) |
| Highest quartile | 1.25 (1.10 to 1.42)* | 1.15 (1.00 to 1.33) | 1.14 (0.99 to 1.3´2) | 1.16 (1.00 to 1.34) |
| Job type | ||||
| Management and knowledge work | 1.18 (0.95 to 1.22) | 1.10 (0.90 to 1.28) | 1.10 (0.94 to 1.28) | 1.11 (0.95 to 1.30) |
| Office and sale (non-manual) | 1.07 (0.97 to 1.17) | 1.07 (0.97 to 1.19) | 1.09 (0.98 to 1.22) | 1.10 (0.99 to 1.23) |
| Manual | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Other | 0.71 (0.58 to 0.87) | 0.71 (0.57 to 0.86)* | 1.17 (0.50 to 2.29) | 0.88 (0.37 to 1.73) |
| Previous periods of work | 1.01 (1.01 to 1.02)* | 1.13 (1.11 to 1.16)** | 1.13 (1.11 to 1.16)** | 1.13 (1.11 to 1.16)** |
| Previous periods of sickness absence | 1.05 (1.04 to 1.05)** | 0.94 (0.92 to 0.96)** | 0.94 (0.92 to 0.96)** | 0.93 (0.91 to 0.95)** |
| Previous periods of unemployment | 0.98 (0.98 to 0.99)* | 0.89 (0.87 to 0.91)** | 0.89 (0.87 to 0.91)** | 0.88 (0.87 to 0.90)** |
| Type of cancer | ||||
| Colonic | 1 | 1 | ||
| Rectal | 1.01 (0.93 to 1.10) | 0.96 (0.84 to 1.08) | ||
| Stage | ||||
| I | 1 | 1 | ||
| II | 0.73 (0.56 to 0.94)* | 0.82 (0.62 to 1.06) | ||
| III | 0.76 (0.69 to 0.84)** | 0.74 (0.66 to 0.82)** | ||
| IV | 0.36 (0.31 to 0.41)** | 0.53 (0.41 to 0.68)** | ||
| Unknown | 1.14 (1.00 to 1.30) | 1.15 (0.96 to 1.39) | ||
| Comorbidity | ||||
| No | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 0.81 (0.73 to 0.89)* | 0.90 (0.82 to 1.00) | ||
| ASA | ||||
| I | 1 | 1 | ||
| II | 0.84 (0.77 to 0.92)* | 0.93 (0.85 to 1.03) | ||
| III | 0.67 (0.52 to 0.84)* | 0.85 (0.65 to 1.07) | ||
| Unknown | 0.89 (0.73 to 1.06) | 1.07 (0.79 to 1.41) | ||
| Curative l operation | ||||
| Yes | 1 | 1 | ||
| No | 0.43 (0.38 to 0.49)** | 0.69 (0.55 to 0.86)* | ||
| Unknown | 0.83 (0.68 to 1.02) | 0.90 (0.62 to 1.26) | ||
| Type of operation | ||||
| Rectal resection | 1 | 1 | ||
| Colonic resection | 0.95 (0.85 to 1.05) | 0.95 (0.83 to 1.09) | ||
| Explorative laparotomy or formation of an ostomy | 0.99 (0.89 to 1.10) | 1.06 (0.91 to 1.23) | ||
| Local procedures | 0.65 (0.50 to 0.83)* | 0.76 (0.57 to 1.00)* | ||
| Unknown | 0.33 (0.22 to 0.48)** | 0.48 (0.30 to 0.75)* | ||
| Postoperative complications | ||||
| No | 1 | 1 | ||
| Yes | 0.84 (0.74 to 0.94)** | 0.82 (0.72 to 0.92)* |
*Significant at 0.05 level.
**Significant at <0.0001 level.
†SES (socioeconomic status): education, disposal income and job type.
‡Confounders: gender, age at time of diagnosis, country of birth, marital status and year of operation.
§Depending on the year, the highest disposal income ranged from 175 500 DKr in 2001 to 299 717 DKr in 2009.
ASA, the American Society of Anesthesiologists; DKr, Danish krone.