Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of participants
| Baseline workstatus | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | At risk of sick leave (n=334) | On sick leave (n=529) | On long-term benefits (n=330) | ||
| F/χ | |||||
| Women (n (%)) | 800 (67.1) | 197 (16.5) | 375 (31.4) | 228 (19.1) | 13.9* |
| Age | 40.4 (9.7) | 40.4 (9.9) | 40.3 (9.4) | 40.5 (9.8) | 0.3 |
| University/postgraduate college (n (%)) | 722 (60.5) | 213 (17.9) | 327 (27.5) | 182 (15.3) | 5.5 |
| Blue-collar workers (n (%)) | 391 (33.9) | 90 (7.8) | 166 (14.4) | 135 (11.7) | 16.6* |
| Private disability insurance (n (%)) | 294 (26.2) | 83 (7.4) | 147 (13.1) | 64 (5.7) | 7.5* |
| Beliefs about work and health (1–5)† | 2.9 (1.5) | 3.2 (1.4) | 2.5 (1.4) | 3.1 (1.5) | 22.7* |
| Illness duration (years) | 8.6 (9.7) | 8.9 (9.7) | 6.5 (8.5) | 11.6 (10.08) | 23.8* |
| Return-to-Work Expectations (n (%)) | |||||
| Positive | 326 (32.3) | 110 (10.9) | 155 (15.4) | 61 (6.1) | 55.3* |
| Uncertain | 312 (31.0) | 63 (6.3) | 160 (15.9) | 89 (8.8) | 0.1 |
| Negative | 370 (36.7) | 37 (3.7) | 197 (19.5) | 136 (13.5) | 48.1* |
| The Brief-Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) (0–10) | |||||
| Consequences‡ | 7.1 (1.9) | 6.6 (2.1) | 7.2 (1.8) | 7.3 (1.8) | 15.6* |
| Timeline‡ | 5.9 (2.4) | 6.0 (2.5) | 5.5 (2.3) | 6.5 (2.5) | 16.7* |
| Personal control | 4.1 (2.2) | 4.1 (2.2) | 4.1 (2.1) | 4.3 (2.2) | 0.6 |
| Treatment control | 6.9 (2.1) | 6.9 (2.1) | 7.0 (2.0) | 6.6 (2.2) | 3.7* |
| Identity‡ | 6.6 (2.1) | 6.3 (2.2) | 6.6 (2.0) | 6.9 (2.0) | 8.2* |
| Illness concern‡ | 6.5 (2.3) | 6.3 (2.4) | 6.5 (2.3) | 6.5 (2.2) | 0.7 |
| Understanding | 6.2 (2.4) | 6.0 (2.5) | 6.0 (2.4) | 6.4 (2.5) | 2.3 |
| Emotional response‡ | 7.7 (2.0) | 7.6 (2.1) | 7.6 (2.0) | 7.8 (1.9) | 1.3 |
| Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) | |||||
| Total score | 18.8 (6.9) | 18.3 (6.8) | 19.1 (6.9) | 18.5 (6.8) | 1.6 |
| Anxiety (cut-off=>8) (n (%)) | 926 (78.2) | 255 (21.5) | 421 (35.6) | 250 (21.1) | 2.2 |
| Depression (cut-off=>8) (n (%)) | 633 (53.5) | 162 (13.7) | 294 (24.8) | 177 (14.9) | 4.3 |
| Subjective health complaints | |||||
| Total score | 20.5 (10.6) | 19.2 (10.4) | 20.9 (10.4) | 21.3 (11.1) | 4.0* |
| Self-reported health status (1–5)§ | 2.7 (0.8) | 2.6 (0.8) | 2.7 (0.8) | 2.9 (0.8) | 10.9* |
All data are reported as mean (SD) unless stated otherwise (n (%)).
Significant between-group differences are reported as F values or χ in the final column to the right.
*Significant at the 0.05 level.
†Higher score indicates perceiving work participation as more beneficial for health (mental health).
‡Higher score indicates more maladaptive illness perceptions.
§Lower score indicates better self-reported health status.