Aims: Mental disorders are among the key public health challenges and cause a significant share of sickness absence. The aim of this study was to examine gender and age-specific trends in sickness absence in Finland among non-retired persons aged 16–67 years during 2005–2019 by main diagnostic groups. Special focus was put on the development of sickness absence due to mental and behavioural disorders. Methods: Data on compensated sickness allowance days were retrieved from the database of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, and data on the non-retired population aged 16–67 years from the database of Statistics Finland for years 2005–2019. Yearly age-standardised sickness absence rates (yearly sickness absence days per each person in the population at risk) according to diagnostic group were calculated for women and men in age groups 16–34, 35–49 and 50–67 years. Results: A steep increase in sickness absence due to mental disorders was observed between 2016 and 2019 in all age groups among both genders, but the increase was more prominent among women. The age group 16–34 years also showed a longer-term gradual increase. In all examined gender and age groups, the increase was mainly a consequence of an increase in sickness absence due to depression and anxiety disorders. Conclusions: Increase in sickness absence due to mental disorders is an early sign of threats to work ability and productivity of the working-age population. Several factors may simultaneously drive the development. The specific reasons for the recent trend need to be studied.

Aims: Examining the non-medical determinants of applying for and being awarded disability pension is important for assessing the functionality of the disability pension system. We examined how demographic and socioeconomic factors as well as factors related to the disability process associate with the probability of applying for disability pension and the probability of applicants being awarded pension in 2009 and 2014. Methods: 70% random samples of Finnish non-retired residents aged 18–64 in 2009 (n = 2,076,881) and in 2014 (n = 2,097,790) were analysed with logistic regression analysis. The application rates were 0.9% in 2009 and 0.7% in 2014, and the rates of awarded pensions were 80.6% in 2009 and 72.2% in 2014. Results: Being an upper-level non-manual employee and having more employment during the preceding four calendar years decreased the odds of applying for disability pension but increased the odds of being awarded one. Older age increased the odds of both applying for and being awarded pension. Compared to applications based on mental disorders, those applying due to neoplasms and diseases of the circulatory system had increased odds of being awarded pension whereas those applying due to musculoskeletal diseases or injuries had decreased odds. Only minor temporal changes were found in the determinants of applying for or being awarded disability pension. Conclusions: With a greater probability of disability pension applications but also a lower probability of being awarded pension, the occupational disability process involves a comprehensive disadvantage for lower socioeconomic status groups.

Excessive expenditure and financial harms are core features of problem gambling. There are various forms of gambling and their nature varies. The aim was to measure gambling expenditure by game type while controlling for demographics and other gambling participation factors. A further aim was to find out how each game type was associated with gambling expenditure when the number of game types played is adjusted for. Using data from the 2015 Finnish Gambling survey on adult gamblers (n = 3555), multiple log-linear regression was used to examine the effects of demographics, gambling participation, and engaging in different game types on weekly gambling expenditure (WGE) and relative gambling expenditure (RGE). Male gender, lower education level, higher gambling frequency and higher number of game types increased both WGE and RGE, while younger age decreased WGE but increased RGE. Furthermore, seven specific game types increased both WGE and RGE. Weekly horse race betting and non-monopoly gambling had the strongest increasing effect on expenditure. Betting games and online poker were associated with higher expenditure even when they were played less often than weekly. Among weekly gamblers the highest mean WGE was recorded for those who played non-monopoly games (146.84 €/week), online poker (59.61 €/week), scratch games (51.77 €/week) and horse race betting (48.67 €/week). Those who played only 1–2 game types a week had the highest mean WGE and RGE on horse race betting and other betting games. It seems that overall gambling frequency is the strongest indicator of high gambling expenditure. Our results showed that different game types had different effect sizes on gambling expenditure. Weekly gambling on horse races and non-monopoly games had the greatest increasing effect on expenditure. However, different game types also varied based on their popularity. The extent of potential harms caused by high expenditure therefore also varies on the population level. Based on our results, future prevention and harm minimization efforts should be tailored to different game types for greater effectiveness.

Frequent attenders (FAs) impose a significant burden on service capacity and public health funding. Although the characteristics of the group and their risk for sickness absences (SA) have been studied, an understanding of FAs in different health care schemes is lacking. The aim of the study was to investigate FAs and their SA risk in the working-age population in public care, occupational health services (OHS) and private care schemes. The average number of SA days was also examined by diagnostic group. Register data on the use of outpatient health care, sickness allowance spells and background characteristics (2015–2018) for 25–64 year old residents of the city of Oulu, Finland, (n = 91,737) were used. Subjects were categorized into non-attenders, non-frequent attenders and FAs (top decile of attenders) both for all outpatient health care and specifically for each care scheme in 2016. The number of sickness absence days was measured yearly in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The data were analyzed with descriptive methods and negative binomial regression models. FAs consumed 31 to 44% of all visits depending on scheme in 2016. Frequent attendance was common among low socioeconomic groups in the public scheme, among lower non-manual employees and manual workers in OHS, and among entrepreneurs in the private scheme. FAs had a higher average number of SA days than others in each scheme, although group differences decreased from 2016 to 2017 and 2018. In public care, the adjusted effect of frequent attendance was strong especially for SA due to mental disorders (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR] for FAs 13.40), and in OHS for SA due to musculoskeletal disorders (adjusted IRR for FAs 8.68). In each outpatient health care scheme, frequent attenders pose a great challenge both by consuming services and through their increased risk of disability. FAs in different schemes have partially different characteristics and risks. Common patient registers covering various service schemes would enable an identification of FAs visiting multiple schemes and services. Better coordinated services are needed for public care FAs in particular.

Purpose: To identify different income trajectories after a rejected disability pension application and to analyze socio-demographic and disability process related determinants of these trajectories. Methods: Finnish residents aged 18–58 years with a first rejected disability pension application in 2010 (N = 3683) were followed for 48 months with register data. We performed a sequence analysis of six income sources (employment, unemployment benefit, sickness allowance, rehabilitation benefit, awarded disability pensions, other/unknown). Multinomial logistic regression was used in analyses. Results: Four clusters were identified, displaying unemployment, awarded disability pension, employment, or unknown source as the primary source of post-rejection income. Transitions between income sources were frequent, especially in the employment and unemployment clusters. Using the awarded pension cluster as the reference group, previous unemployment raised the odds of unemployment cluster membership the most. Similarly, previous employment raised the odds of employment cluster the most. A somatic rather than mental disorder and being under 50 years old raised the odds of being in the unemployment and employment clusters. Conclusions: After a rejected disability pension, main income paths include unemployment benefits, re-applied disability pension, and fragmented employment. Labor market and sickness history and age are associated with the probability of these paths.

Background: Return-to-work (RTW) process often includes many phases. Still, multi-state analyses that follow relevant labour market states after a long-term sickness absence (LTSA), and include a comprehensive set of covariates, are scarce. The goal of this study was to follow employment, unemployment, sickness absence, rehabilitation, and disability pension spells using sequence analysis among all-cause LTSA absentees. Methods: Register data covered full-time and partial sickness allowance, rehabilitation, employment, unemployment benefits, and permanent and temporary disability pension (DP), retrieved for a 30% representative random sample of Finnish 18–59 years old persons with a LTSA in 2016 (N = 25,194). LTSA was defined as a ≥ 30-day-long full-time sickness absence spell. Eight mutually exclusive states were constructed for each person and for 36 months after the LTSA. Sequence analysis and clustering were used to identify groups with different labour market pathways. In addition, demographic, socioeconomic, and disability-related covariates of these clusters were examined using multinomial regressions. Results: We identified five clusters with emphases on the different states: (1) rapid RTW cluster (62% of the sample); (2) rapid unemployment cluster (9%); (3) DP after a prolonged sickness absence cluster (11%); (4) immediate or late rehabilitation cluster (6%); (5) other states cluster (6%). Persons with a rapid RTW (cluster 1) had a more advantaged background than other clusters, such as a higher frequency of employment and less chronic diseases before LTSA. Cluster 2 associated especially with pre-LTSA unemployment and lower pre-LTSA earnings. Cluster 3 was associated especially with having a chronic illness before LTSA. Those in cluster 4 were on average younger and had a higher educational level than others. Especially clusters 3 and 4 were associated with a LTSA based on mental disorders. Conclusions: Among long-term sickness absentees, clear groups can be identified with both differing labour market pathways after LTSA and differing backgrounds. Lower socioeconomic background, pre-LTSA chronic diseases and LTSA caused by mental disorders increase the likelihood for pathways dominated by long-term unemployment, disability pensioning and rehabilitation rather than rapid RTW. LTSA based on a mental disorder can especially increase the likelihood for entering rehabilitation or disability pension.