Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41493509›Full record

SynthesisJournal of occupational rehabilitation2026

Associations Between Employment and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Reviews.

Ryan Gerdes, Tanya D Jackson, Richard Roberts, Ellina Lytvyak, Danika Deibert, Liz Dennett, A Kim Burton, Douglas P Gross, Charl Els, Alexander Doroshenko and 2 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Ryan GerdesDivision of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-2160-3108
Tanya D JacksonDivision of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8159-7421
Richard RobertsDivision of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5734-3413
Ellina LytvyakDivision of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5651-9010
Danika DeibertDivision of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-8522-8847
Liz DennettGeoffrey and Robyn Sperber Health Sciences Library, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0758-5411
A Kim BurtonSchool of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9462-2227
Douglas P GrossDepartment of Physical Therapy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2427-6277
Charl ElsDivision of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1177-2984
Alexander DoroshenkoDivision of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6804-1245
Reidar HagtvedtDivision of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5698-6273
Sebastian StraubeDivision of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. straube@ualberta.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7862-0398

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe subject of employment as a determinant of health has received considerable attention from researchers. To our knowledge, a comprehensive synthesis of evidence on the health effects of employment has not been completed in almost 20 years. This systematic review aimed to provide an up-to-date summary of the associations between employment status and any measurable domain of health.

methodsWe searched Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, and APA PsycINFO. We included peer-reviewed, full-text systematic reviews or overviews published in English between January 2012 and November 2024. Two reviewers independently screened resultant publications and extracted data from those found eligible for the review.

resultsOur search yielded 1862 reviews and meta-analyses, 49 of which were eligible for synthesis. Employment status was associated with several health domains including general health and wellbeing, mental health, alcohol and substance use disorders, cardiovascular health, systemic inflammation, sleep quality, cognitive functioning, and mortality.

conclusionBeing employed was almost universally associated with favourable physical and mental health outcomes, with evidence to suggest re-employment may facilitate improvements in health after a period of unemployment. Socioeconomic status was a notable factor which affected health outcomes for both employed and unemployed people, illustrative of social gradients in health. Insecure or low-quality work demonstrated the potential to override identified health benefits of work. Heterogeneity in the operationalization of employment across publications, and the influence of survivorship bias on health outcomes highlights a task for future research to establish causality in the relationship between employment status and health.

Indexed as

EmploymentPublic HealthRisk FactorsSocial Determinants of HealthSystematic ReviewWork

Identifiers

PMID41493509

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.