ArticlePloS one2015
The Prognostic Value of the Work Ability Index for Sickness Absence among Office Workers.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed.
- Longitudinal Associations Between Core Health Domains, Assessed Using the PROMIS-29, and Work Ability in a Working Population: Findings from the Lifelines Cohort Study.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Medico-social predictors of low work ability: a cross-sectional study of 2104 workers in southern France.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Roles of Psychiatry, Dietary, and Oncology Services in Occupational Medicine: A Comprehensive Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Correlations Between Gender, Age, and Occupational Factors on the Work Ability Index Among Healthcare Professionals.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exploring work ability, psychosocial job demands and resources of employees in low-skilled jobs: a German cross-sectional study.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2024Article
- The Work Ability Index (WAI) in the Healthcare Sector: A Cross-Sectional/Retrospective Assessment of the Questionnaire.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Adolescent Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Future Work Ability.JAMA network open · 2024Observational
- Analysis of the Return to Work Program for Disabled Workers during the Pandemic COVID-19 Using the Quality of Life and Work Ability Index: Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Predictive value of Heart Rate Variability measurements and the Brief Resilience Scale for workability and vitality.Work (Reading, Mass.) · 2023Observational
- Work ability and physical fitness among aging workers: the Finnish Retirement and Aging Study.European journal of ageing · 2022Article
- Article
- Associations between health-related skills and young adults' work ability within a structural health literacy model.Health promotion international · 2021Article
- Work-life balance predicted work ability two years later: a cohort study of employees in the Swedish energy and water sector.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Self-reported work ability predicts health-related exit and absence from work, work participation, and death: longitudinal findings from a sample of German employees.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2021Article
- Mediating Factors for the Relationship between Stress and Work Ability over Time in Young Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Association between physical work demands and work ability in workers with musculoskeletal pain: cross-sectional study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2020Article
- Physical Activity Promotion for Apprentices in Nursing Care and Automotive Mechatronics-Competence Counts More than Volume.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Device-Measured Sedentary Behaviour are Associated with Sickness Absence in Office Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Work Ability and Job Survival: Four-Year Follow-Up.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Physical workload and obesity have a synergistic effect on work ability among construction workers.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe work ability index (WAI) is a frequently used tool in occupational health to identify workers at risk for a reduced work performance and for work-related disability. However, information about the prognostic value of the WAI to identify workers at risk for sickness absence is scarce.
objectivesTo investigate the prognostic value of the WAI for sickness absence, and whether the discriminative ability differs across demographic subgroups.
methodsAt baseline, the WAI (score 7-49) was assessed among 1,331 office workers from a Dutch financial service company. Sickness absence was registered during 12-months follow-up and categorised as 0 days, 0<days<5, 5≤days<15, and ≥15 days in one year. Associations between WAI and sickness absence were estimated by multinomial regression analyses. Discriminative ability of the WAI was assessed by the Area Under the Curve (AUC) and Ordinal c-index (ORC). Test characteristics were determined for dichotomised outcomes. Additional analyses were performed for separate WAI dimensions, and subgroup analyses for demographic groups.
resultsA lower WAI was associated with sickness absence (≥15 days vs. 0 days: per point lower WAI score OR=1.27; 95%CI 1.21-1.33). The WAI showed reasonable ability to discriminate between categories of sickness absence (ORC=0.65; 95%CI 0.63-0.68). Highest discrimination was found for comparing workers with ≥15 sick days with 0 sick days (AUC=0.77) or with 1-5 sick days (AUC=0.69). At the cut-off for poor work ability (WAI≤27) the sensitivity to identify workers at risk for ≥15 sick days was 7.5%, the specificity 99.6%, and the positive predictive value 82%. The performance was similar across demographic subgroups.
conclusionsThe WAI could be used to identify workers at high risk for prolonged sickness absence. However, due to low sensitivity many workers will be missed. Hence, additional factors are required to better identify workers at highest risk.
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