There is limited scientific evidence that women have a higher frequency and incidence of sickness absence due to psychiatric diagnoses. Because of conflicting findings, there is insufficient evidence on gender differences in the duration of sickness absence. Because of conflicting findings, there is also insufficient evidence on the association between age and sickness absence with psychiatric diagnoses. There is insufficient evidence on the association of sickness absence due to psychiatric diagnoses with work-related factors, factors related to family and social networks outside of the job, and psychosocial factors in childhood and adolescence since none of the individual factors were investigated in more than a single study. The results were conflicting (insufficient evidence) in five studies that investigated whether individuals with psychiatric disorders were at greater risk for sickness absence and disability pension, irrespective of the diagnosis on the sickness certificate. The four studies that used alcohol diagnoses to identify alcohol problems found increased sickness absence irrespective of the diagnosis on the certificate (expressed as more sick-leave days or an increased risk for prolonged sickness absence in individuals with alcohol problems). Furthermore, two of the studies found an increased risk for disability pension in women diagnosed with alcohol problems. There is insufficient evidence because of too few studies. The results are conflicting with regard to the association between high alcohol consumption and sickness absence, irrespective of the diagnosis on the certificate (insufficient evidence).

Background: Women report more occupational ill-health and are more sick-listed than men. Exploration of women's working conditions would therefore seem to be valuable. In this study we investigated the prevalence of work-related stress and its association with self-perceived health and sick-leave in a population of employed, working Swedish women.Methods: This cross-sectional population study comprised 424 employed, working women who answered questionnaires on work-related stress, self-perceived health and sick-leave. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated in order to analyse the association between the exposure variables of work-related stress and outcome variables of ill-health symptoms, self-rated health and sick-leave.Results: Ten percent of the group reported highperceived stress owing to indistinct organisation and conflicts, and 25% highperceived stress owing to individual demands and commitment. Twenty-two percent reported lowinfluence at workand 33% reported work interference with leisure time. All categories of overall work-related stress were significantly associated with increased odds of high level of illness symptoms, with the highest OR for highperceived stress owing to indistinct organisation and conflictsand highperceived stress owing to individual demands and commitmentwith an OR of 3.17 (CI = 1.51–6.62) and 4.53 (CI = 2.71–7.56) respectively. Highperceived stress owing to indistinct organisation and conflictsand lowinfluence at workwere significantly associated with sick-leave with an OR of 3.85 (CI = 1.59–9.30) and 2.54 (CI = 1.17–5.48) respectively.Conclusion: This study showed an association between, on the one hand, work-related stress, and on the other hand, illness symptoms and sick-leave. Distinguishing between the occurrence of negative work characteristics, and the immediate perception of stress because of these, resulted in a broad view of women's working conditions and expanded knowledge of work-related stress in women.

The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of sickness absence with psychiatric diagnoses from 1994-2000, and the distribution across gender, age groups, diagnostic groups and regions in a general population. The population at risk was defined as all individuals aged 16-66 years who were entitled to sickness benefits in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000 (n = 2,282,761 in 2000). All individuals with a full-time disability pension were excluded. The study included approximately 77% of the Norwegian population aged 16-66 years. For each year, the study base started on 1 January and ended on 31 December. Individuals that were sick-listed for more than 14/16 consecutive days with a psychiatric diagnosis on their medical certificate were selected as cases. Included in this study were data for Norway, the capital city Oslo and five regions in the southeast of the country. Sickness absence with psychiatric diagnoses increased in all age groups, in women and men, and in all regions. At the national level, the cumulative incidence increased in women from 1.7% in 1994 to 4.6% in 2000, and in men from 0.8% in 1994 to 2.2% in 2000. The highest cumulative incidence was found in middle-aged women and men (30-59 years). Women had a higher incidence than men in all stratification groups. The cumulative incidences in 2000 varied between 4.6% to 5.6% in women in the different regions, and for men the corresponding figures were 2.1% to 3.2%. Throughout the four years studied, women in Oslo had more than twice as high incidence levels of sickness absence with alcohol and drug diagnoses as the country as a whole. There were some differences between regions in sickness absence with specific psychiatric diagnoses, but they were small and most comparisons were non-significant. Sickness absence with psychiatric diagnoses increased between 1994 and 2000 in Norway. The increase was highest in the middle-aged, and in women. Few regional differences were found. That the increase pervaded all stratification groups supports general explanations of the increase, such as changes in attitudes to psychiatric disorders in both patients and doctors, and increased mental distress probably associated with societal changes at a more structural level.

Several methodological aspects concerning research on sickness absence and disability pension are noteworthy, including: empirical research is being conducted within many different disciplines using various study designs; progress in theory development has been slow and weak; several outcome measures are used; terminology varies widely; and comparative research is difficult to conduct since insurance systems differ over time and among nations and employers.