Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41744061›Full record

ArticleJournal of occupational health2026

Predicting mental health-related sick leave using stress check data: development and validation of a workplace risk model.

Shunsuke Inoue, Tomohisa Nagata, Naoto Ito, Yuka Takahashi, Yusuke Hoshi, Mika Sato, Masahide Minami, Masayoshi Ida, Koji Mori

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of occupational health, 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. Data analysis in occupational health practice: lessons from experience.Environmental and occupational health practice · 2026
    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

9 authors.

Shunsuke InoueDepartment of Occupational Health Practice and Management, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3775-6536
Tomohisa NagataDepartment of Occupational Health Practice and Management, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.ORCID 0000-0001-9173-420X
Naoto ItoDepartment of Occupational Health Practice and Management, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.
Yuka TakahashiHealth Promotion Center, Komatsu Ltd., Shiodome Building, 1-2-20, Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8316, Japan.
Yusuke HoshiHealth Promotion Center, Komatsu Ltd., Shiodome Building, 1-2-20, Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8316, Japan.
Mika SatoHealth Promotion Center, Komatsu Ltd., Shiodome Building, 1-2-20, Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8316, Japan.
Masahide MinamiHealth Promotion Center, Komatsu Ltd., Shiodome Building, 1-2-20, Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8316, Japan.
Masayoshi IdaHealth Promotion Center, Komatsu Ltd., Shiodome Building, 1-2-20, Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8316, Japan.
Koji MoriDepartment of Occupational Health Practice and Management, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-8821-4438

Funding

Komatsu Ltd
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo develop and validate a predictive model for mental health-related sick leave using data from Japan's Stress Check program linked with personnel records (demographics and sick-leave history), and to evaluate its predictive performance compared with the conventional high-stress classification.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of employees (2020-2024) in a 14-company corporate group spanning diverse occupations. A mixed-effects logistic regression model was developed using data from 2020-2023, with company and year as random intercepts. Variable robustness was confirmed through least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) logistic regression. Model calibration and discrimination were evaluated using the Brier score and area under the curve (AUC), respectively. The model was temporally validated on 2024 data.

resultsAmong 87 138 person-years in the development phase, 695 employees took mental health-related sick leave (0.8%). Seven predictors-younger age, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, low job control, poor job suitability, and low coworker support-were significantly associated with sick leave. The recalibrated model showed good discrimination (AUC = 0.708) and calibration (Brier score = 0.0079) in development, and higher performance in validation (AUC = 0.819; Brier score = 0.0026). The conventional high-stress classification performed poorly.

conclusionsThe proposed model demonstrated robust predictive validity and outperformed the conventional high-stress classification. By providing quantitative and continuous risk stratification within the Stress Check framework, it offers a practical approach to support risk-based prioritization and decision-making in occupational health practice.

Indexed as

Mental HealthSick LeaveStress, PsychologicalWorkplaceAdultFemaleHumansJapanLogistic ModelsMaleMiddle AgedOccupational HealthRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentWorking ConditionsBrief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ)mental health–related sick leaveoccupational healthprediction modelrisk stratificationStress Check program

Identifiers

PMID41744061
PMCPMC13125752

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.