ArticleInternational archives of occupational and environmental health2021
Self-reported work ability predicts health-related exit and absence from work, work participation, and death: longitudinal findings from a sample of German employees.
Article in International archives of occupational and environmental health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Work-Related Psychosocial Risk and Protective Factors Influencing Workplace Sickness Absence: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Cluster Analysis Reveals Subgroups with Different Risk Profiles and Sickness Absence Patterns in an Occupational Health Cohort.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Decline in Work Ability over Time and Its Association with Physical Performance Among Senior Workers: A Prospective Cohort Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Individual and occupational correlates of work ability of Polish employees with visual impairments.International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health · 2026Article
- 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
- When owls struggle at work: chronotype, burnout, and work ability in shift and non-shift employees.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- 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
- Association between physical fitness and perceived work ability among Finnish population: a cross-sectional study.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2024Article
- Perceived work-ability and its associated factors among nurses working in the Northwest of Amhara regional state Referral Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia, 2022.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of a screening tool to assess prevention and rehabilitation needs of 45 to 59 years old in primary care - study protocol of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (PReHa45).BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Association of short poor work ability measure with increased mortality risk: a prospective multicohort study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Work ability and physical fitness among aging workers: the Finnish Retirement and Aging Study.European journal of ageing · 2022Article
- A comprehensive diagnostic service to clarify intervention needs when work participation is at risk: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (GIBI, DRKS00027577).BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Importance of frequency and intensity of strength training for work ability among physical therapists.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Social inequalities in early exit from employment in Germany: a causal mediation analysis on the role of work, health, and work ability.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2022Article
- The impact of manual patient handling on work ability: A cross-sectional study in a Brazilian hospital.Nursing open · 2022Observational
- Article
- Association between work ability and work stressors: cross-sectional survey of elderly services and health and social care service employees.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2022Article
- Comparison of the work ability index and the work ability score for predicting health-related quality of life.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2022Article
- Rehabilitation care planning on a digital communication platform for patients with a work disability: protocol for the RehaPro-SERVE feasibility study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe cohort study examined the performance of the Work Ability Index in predicting health-related exit and absence from work, work participation, and death among a sample of workers previously receiving sickness absence benefits.
methodsWorkers aged 40-54 years who received sickness absence benefits in 2012 completed the Work Ability Index in 2013. Outcomes were extracted from administrative data records covering the period until the end of 2016.
resultsData for 2266 participants were included (mean age: 47.9 years; 54.4% women). Maximum follow-up was 43 months. In terms of work ability, 38.4% had good scores, 38.2% moderate scores, and 23.4% poor scores. Fully adjusted analyses showed an increased risk of a disability pension in workers with poor (HR = 12.98; 95% CI 5.81-28.99) and moderate Work Ability Index scores (HR = 3.17; 95% CI 1.36-7.38) compared to workers with good or excellent scores. The risk of a rehabilitation measure was also significantly increased for workers with poor and moderate scores. In addition, poor scores were prospectively associated with a longer duration of sickness absence and unemployment benefits, and fewer employment days and less income from regular employment. Those with poor Work Ability Index scores also had a significantly increased risk of premature death.
conclusionsThe Work Ability Index is a potential tool to identify individuals with previous long-term sickness absence having an increased risk of health-related exit and absence from work and poor work participation outcomes.
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.