Does Sickness Absence due to Psychiatric Disorder Predict Cause-Specific Mortality? A 16-Year Follow-Up of the GAZEL Occupational Cohort Study

The authors tested the hypothesis that psychiatric sickness absence predicts mortality from leading medical causes. Data were derived from the French GAZEL cohort study & administrative files & linked to mortality data from France’s national registry. Analyses were done using Cox regression models. Compared to workers with no sickness absence, those absent due to psychiatric disorder were at increased risk of cause-specific mortality adjusted for age, gender, occupational grade, & other sickness absence. After full adjustment, the excess risk of suicide remained significant. Psychiatric sickness absence records could help identify individuals at risk of premature mortality & serve to monitor workers’ health. (42 refs). JA