Pregnancy-related sickness absence among employed women in a Swedish county
研究了瑞典某县在职女性因妊娠相关疾病请病假的差异，发现不同职业和性别比例的工作环境中病假率存在显著差异，对理解女性劳动参与和健康政策有参考价值。
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to analyze the variation of pregnancy-related sickness absence among employed women according to age, occupation, and degree of male-female domination within occupations. METHODS: Data from a prospective study of all new sick-leave spells exceeding 7 d in 1985 and 1986 in the county of Ostergötland, Sweden, were related to the population at risk, through the Swedish Medical Birth Register. The subjects included in the analysis were all 7000 employed women that gave birth in 1985 and 1986, of which some 3000 were sick-listed at least once with pregnancy-related diagnoses. RESULTS: There was little difference in the pregnancy-related sickness absence between the age groups. The age-standardized rate for sick leaves involving pregnancy-related diagnoses differed substantially between occupations. Women in the metal industry had the highest rates; those employed in administration, banking, and insurance had the lowest. White-collar occupations generally had lower rates and blue-collar occupations higher rates, with some exceptions (eg, in saw mills, farming, and the chemical industry). Gender-integrated occupations had the lowest sick-leave rate, while extremely male-dominated jobs had the highest. The latter association remained after adjustment for occupational area. CONCLUSIONS: There were considerable differences between occupational groups in the rates of sick leaves involving pregnancy-related diagnoses. Some differences were related to physical load of the jobs being done, but not all. It seems important to consider also male-female domination within a job with respect to such sick leaves.