Background: Psychological distress and overweight are increasingly prevalent public health concerns associated with reduced work ability and sickness absence, but their combined association with presenteeism is unknown. Methods: Survey data from the Helsinki Health Study (2017) of employees aged 19–39 (n=3,510) were linked with 12-month personnel register data. The association between psychological distress, Body Mass Index and presenteeism was assessed using negative binomial adjusted for sociodemographic and work factors. Results: Presenteeism accounted for 4.4% of total working days. Psychological distress (18.2%) and overweight (41.9%) were each associated with higher presenteeism, with the strongest association for both combined (IRR 2.91, 95% CI 2.36–3.60), after adjustments. Conclusions: Psychological distress and overweight jointly increased presenteeism, highlighting the need for integrated workplace support to prevent productivity loss in this group with long work careers ahead.
Kalima et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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