August/September 2009 (vol. 06/2)

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Research Plus

Predicting work disability

A systematic review concludes that prognostic factors for work disability are similar for workers with various chronic diseases, enabling high-risk groups to be targeted with a general disability management intervention regardless of their particular diagnoses. Forty-three relevant studies were identified, 32 of high quality. For asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and ischaemic heart disease, the common prognostic factors for work disability were perceived health complaints, disease-related limitation in daily physical activity, heavy manual work and female gender. There were no papers on diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was excluded from the analysis since only one paper met inclusion criteria.

Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health 2009; 35(4): 264–281. http://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=1337

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Occupational Health at Work August/September 2009 (vol. 06/2) pp41