ArticlePloS one2017
Physical activity and unplanned illness-related work absenteeism: Data from an employee wellness program.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 4 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
19 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Occupational health interventions' impact on absenteeism and economic returns: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2026Pooled it
- The Role of Physical Exercise in the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Manual Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.La Medicina del lavoro · 2024Pooled it
- Device-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour and cardiometabolic health and fitness across occupational groups: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2019Pooled it
- Physical activity as a tool to reduce disease-related work absenteeism in sedentary employees: A systematic reviewRevista espanola de salud publica · 2018Pooled it
- Factors Associated with the Odds, Duration, and Costs of Health-Related Absenteeism: A Population-Based Study in São Paulo City, Brazil.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Budget impact of the Walk With Ease program for knee osteoarthritis.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2024Article
- Consequences of Insufficient Physical Activity: A Comparative Analysis of Poland and Europe.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2024Review
- Article
- Effectiveness of Multicomponent Interventions and Physical Activity in the Workplace to Reduce Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Incentivised physical activity intervention promoting daily steps among university employees in the workplace through a team-based competition.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Socioeconomic inequalities in employees' health-enhancing physical activity: Evidence from the SHAHWAR cohort study in Iran.PloS one · 2023Article
- Examining physical activity and quality of life in adults with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability.Journal of intellectual disabilities : JOID · 2022Article
- Physical Activity and Well-being Status among Employees of University of Medical Sciences.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2022Article
- Article
- Efficacy and costs of a workplace wellness programme.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2020Article
- Towards a HR Framework for Developing a Health-Promoting Performance Culture at Work: A Norwegian Health Care Management Case Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Race Differences in Physical Activity Uptake Within a Workplace Wellness Program: A Comparison of Black and White Employees.American journal of health promotion : AJHP · 2019Article
- Association between the Increase in Body Mass Index and Medical Absenteeism in a Peruvian Mining Population.The international journal of occupational and environmental medicine · 2018Article
- Personalized Physical Activity Coaching: A Machine Learning Approach.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIllness-related absenteeism is a major threat to work productivity. Our objective was to assess the relationship between physical activity and unplanned illness-related absenteeism from work.
methodsWe implemented physical activity program for sedentary non-clinician employees of a tertiary medical center. Financial rewards were available for reaching accelerometer-measured ambulatory physical activity goals over a 24-week period. We categorized participants into three groups based on mean levels of physical activity: low (0-74 min/week), medium (75-149 min/week) and meeting CDC guidelines (≥150 min/week). We built a multivariable Poisson regression model to evaluate the relationship between physical activity and rates of unplanned illness-related absenteeism.
resultsThe sample consisted of 292 employees who participated in the program. Their mean age was 38 years (SD 11), 83% were female, and 38% were obese. Over the 24 intervention weeks, participants engaged in a mean of 90 min/week (SD 74) of physical activity and missed a mean of 14 hours of work (SD 38) due to illness. Unplanned absenteeism due to illness was associated with physical activity. As compared to the group meeting CDC guidelines, in multivariable analyses those in the medium physical activity group had a 2.4 (95% CI 1.3-4.5) fold higher rate of illness-related absenteeism and those in the lowest physical activity group had a 3.5 (95% CI 1.7-7.2) fold higher rate of illness-related absenteeism. DISCUSSION: Less physical activity was associated with more illness-related absenteeism. Workforce-based interventions to increase physical activity may thus be a promising vehicle to reduce unplanned illness-related absenteeism.
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.