ArticleBMJ open2012
The association between childhood cognitive ability and adult long-term sickness absence in three British birth cohorts: a cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Association of caesarean delivery with offspring health outcomes in full-cohort versus sibling-comparison studies: a comparative meta-analysis and simulation study.BMC medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association studies of cognitive abilities.Molecular psychiatry · 2018Pooled it
- The economic burden of mental health deterioration on Australian households: a longitudinal analysis of out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures.Health economics review · 2026Article
- Contribution of compositional changes in the workforce to sickness absence trends in Finland.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- Do early life factors explain the educational differences in early labour market exit? A register-based cohort study.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Associations between low parental education, childhood adversities and sickness absence in midlife public sector employees.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2023Article
- Changes in Cognitive Outcomes in Early Childhood: The Role of Family Income and Volatility.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Pattern learning reveals brain asymmetry to be linked to socioeconomic status.Cerebral cortex communications · 2022Article
- Prevalence and early-life determinants of mid-life multimorbidity: evidence from the 1970 British birth cohort.BMC public health · 2021Article
- The Rise in Single-Mother Families and Children's Cognitive Development: Evidence From Three British Birth Cohorts.Child development · 2020Article
- Cognitive Ability in Midlife and Labor Market Participation Among Older Workers: Prospective Cohort Study With Register Follow-up.Safety and health at work · 2020Article
- Does cognitive function predict changes in perception of stressful working conditions?Industrial health · 2020Article
- Maternal age and offspring developmental vulnerability at age five: A population-based cohort study of Australian children.PLoS medicine · 2018Article
- The reversing association between advanced maternal age and child cognitive ability: evidence from three UK birth cohorts.International journal of epidemiology · 2017Article
- Decline in the negative association between low birth weight and cognitive ability.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2017Article
- IQ and mental health are vital predictors of work drop out and early mortality. Multi-state analyses of Norwegian male conscripts.PloS one · 2017Article
- Article
- High school dropout and long-term sickness and disability in young adulthood: a prospective propensity score stratified cohort study (the Young-HUNT study).BMC public health · 2013Article
- Life course health care and preemptive approach to non-communicable diseases.Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and biological sciences · 2013Review
- Changes in socioeconomic inequality in Indonesian children's cognitive function from 2000 to 2007: a decomposition analysis.PloS one · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe authors aimed to test the relationship between childhood cognitive function and long-term sick leave in adult life and whether any relationship was mediated by educational attainment, adult social class or adult mental ill-health.
designCohort study.
settingThe authors used data from the 1946, 1958 and 1970 British birth cohorts. Initial study populations included all live births in 1 week in that year. Follow-up arrangements have differed between the cohorts.
participantsThe authors included only those alive, living in the UK and not permanent refusals at the time of the outcome. The authors further restricted analyses to those in employment, full-time education or caring for a family in the sweep immediately prior to the outcome. 2894 (1946), 15 053 (1958) and 14 713 (1970) cohort members were included. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: receipt of health-related benefits (eg, incapacity benefit) in 2000 and 2004 for the 1958 and 1970 cohorts, respectively, and individuals identified as 'permanently sick or disabled' in 1999 for 1946 cohort.
resultsAfter adjusting for sex and parental social class, better cognitive function at age 10/11 was associated with reduced odds of being long-term sick (1946: 0.70 (0.56 to 0.86), p=0.001; 1958: 0.69 (0.61 to 0.77), p<0.001; 1970: 0.80 (0.66 to 0.97), p=0.003). Educational attainment appeared to partly mediate the associations in all cohorts; adult social class appeared to have a mediating role in the 1946 cohort.
conclusionsLong-term sick leave is a complex outcome with many risk factors beyond health. Cognitive abilities might impact on the way individuals are able to develop strategies to maintain their employment or rapidly find new employment when faced with a range of difficulties. Education should form part of the policy response to long-term sick leave such that young people are better equipped with skills needed in a flexible labour market.
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Registered trials
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