Objective: To examine job strain, adverse life events, and their co-occurrence as predictors of sickness absence.
Methods: Random sample-based mail survey data on 1806 Finns in gainful employment were linked to sickness absence records (1987-1998) from national health registers. Generalized linear models with negative binomial distribution assumption were applied.
Results: After adjustment for demographic characteristics and health behavior, job strain (rate ratio [RR] 1.73; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.21-2.48), but not life events, independently predicted increased rate of sickness absence among men. The opposite was true for women, (RR for life events 1.39; 95% CI = 1.10-1.75). No statistically significant interaction between job strain and life events was detected.
Conclusion: In addition to job strain, strain originating in private life should be kept in mind when the need for sickness absence of women employees is evaluated within health care.