SynthesisBMJ open2014
Work outcomes of sickness absence related to mental disorders: a systematic literature review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Work-Related Psychosocial Risk and Protective Factors Influencing Workplace Sickness Absence: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Improving the Psychosocial Work Environment to Prevent Sickness Absence and Turnover in Nurses: A Systematic Review.Journal of nursing management · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Evidence for the Cost-Effectiveness of Return-to-Work Interventions for Mental Illness Related Sickness Absences: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2021Pooled it
- Employer Best Practice Guidelines for the Return to Work of Workers on Mental Disorder-Related Disability Leave: A Systematic Review.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2016Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A person-centred care intervention provided via eHealth to reduce fatigue in patients with common mental disorders - secondary outcome analysis from a randomized controlled trial.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Trial
- Healthy Minds: Group Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Sustainable Return to Work After a Sick Leave Due to Depression.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2022Trial
- Trajectories of Return to Work Among People on Sick Leave with Mood or Anxiety Disorders: Secondary Analysis from a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2018Trial
- Obstacles, Self-Efficacy, and Strategies for Returning to Work after Experiencing Burnout: Paving the Path to Sustainable Reintegration.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Theoretical evaluation of mental health first aid using the behavioural change wheel (BCW).Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- Assessing the Psychometric Properties of the French-Canadian Version of the Psychological Safety Climate Questionnaire (PSC-12).Safety and health at work · 2025Article
- Women's health and psychological well-being in the return-to-work process after long-term sick leave for common mental disorders: women's and first-line managers' perspectives.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Recognition During the Return-to-Work Process in Workers with Common Mental Disorders.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Sickness absence around contact with outpatient mental health care services - differences between migrants and non-migrants: a Norwegian register study.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Patient needs and care: moves toward person-centered care for Graves' disease in Sweden.European thyroid journal · 2023Review
- Diagnosis-specific Cumulative Incidence of Return-to-work, Resignation, and Death Among Long-term Sick-listed Employees: Findings From the Japan Epidemiology Collaboration on Occupational Health Study.Journal of epidemiology · 2022Article
- Sustainable return to work after depression - A comparative study among occupational physicians and affected employees.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Article
- The impact of disease changes and mental health illness on readapted return to work after repeated sick leaves among Brazilian public university employees.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe purpose of this systematic literature review is to examine the current state of knowledge regarding the return-to-work outcomes of sickness absences related to mental disorders that increase costs borne by employers. We address two questions: (1) Based on the existing literature, from the employer's perspective, what are the relevant economic return-to-work outcomes for sickness absences related to mental disorders? and (2) From the employer's economic perspective, are there gaps in knowledge about the relevant return-to-work outcomes for sickness absences related to mental disorders?
settingThe included studies used administrative data from either an employer, insurer or occupational healthcare provider.
participantsStudies included working adults between 18 and 65 years old who had a sickness absence related to a mental disorder. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The studies considered two general return-to-work outcome categories: (1) outcomes focusing on return-to-work and (2) outcomes focusing on sickness absence recurrence.
resultsA total of 3820 unique citations were identified. Of these, 10 studies were identified whose quality ranged from good to excellent. Half of the identified studies came from one country. The studies considered two characteristics of sickness absence: (1) whether and how long it took for a worker to return-to-work and (2) sickness absence recurrence. None of the studies examined return-to-work outcomes related to work reintegration.
conclusionsThe existing literature suggests that along with the incidence of sickness absence related to mental disorders, the length of sickness absence episodes and sickness absence recurrence (ie, number and time between) should be areas of concern. However, there also seems to be gaps in the literature regarding the work reintegration process and its associated costs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.