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The impact of work on morbidity-related early retirement

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Abstract

Aim

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of occupations and job exposures on morbidity-related early retirement in Germany by estimation of work-related relative and attributable risks.

Subjects and methods

Occupational histories of 28,000 persons, who were granted a disability pension in 1999, and of some 260,000 employed persons serving as controls were recorded. After developing suitable methods to map occupational histories to exposures odds ratios and attributable risks of early retirement were calculated in a case-control study. The direct costs of early retirement, taken as the utilization of medical resources, were calculated from statistics of the German Health Insurance System. The indirect costs were calculated by estimating the loss of productivity resulting from early retirement. The total of the direct and indirect costs multiplied with the population attributable risk yields the desired work-related costs of early retirement.

Results

In Germany the work-related costs of early retirement are estimated as at least 10.3 billion Euros annually, including 1.2 billion Euros direct costs. The most important exposures are heavy work (lifting) and low job control. It is estimated that a moderate increase in job control could save up to 2 billion Euros annually. The strongest associations to disability pensioning could be seen for occupations in nursing and mining.

Conclusion

This study shows a considerable impact of work on early retirement. This impact is seen with respect to increased risks for a number of occupations and workload factors. The results point to the importance of work-site health promotion and prevention as there seems to be a considerable potential not only for reducing the individual burden of early retirement, but also for high economic savings.

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I certify that there is no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BKK Bundesverband, Federal Association of Company Health Insurance Funds, Kronprinzenstr. 6, 45128, Essen, Germany

    Wolfgang Boedeker

  2. Institute for Prevention and Health Research at the University Duisburg-Essen, Max-Fiedler-Str. 6, 45128, Essen, Germany

    Heiko Friedel, Michael Friedrichs & Christof Röttger

Authors
  1. Wolfgang Boedeker
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  2. Heiko Friedel
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  3. Michael Friedrichs
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  4. Christof Röttger
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Correspondence to Wolfgang Boedeker.

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Boedeker, W., Friedel, H., Friedrichs, M. et al. The impact of work on morbidity-related early retirement. J Public Health 16, 97–105 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-007-0146-9

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