Differences in Sickness Allowance Receipt between Swedish Speakers and Finnish Speakers in Finland
A Register-based Study
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Previous research has documented lower disability retirement and mortality rates of Swedish speakers as compared with Finnish speakers in Finland. This paper is the first to compare the two language groups with regard to the receipt of sickness allowance, which is an objective health measure that reflects a less severe poor health condition. Register-based data covering the years 1988-2011 are used. We estimate logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations to account for repeated observations at the individual level. We find that Swedish-speaking men have approximately 30 percent lower odds of receiving sickness allowance than Finnish-speaking men, whereas the difference in women is about 15 percent. In correspondence with previous research on all-cause mortality at working ages, we find no language-group difference in sickness allowance receipt in the socially most successful subgroup of the population.
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References
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https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494809346871
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https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/14.4.398
Helgesson, M., Johansson, B., Wernroth, L. & Vingård, E. (2016). Exposure to different lengths of sick leave and subsequent work absence among young adults. BMC Public Health 16:51.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2679-0
Hyyppä, M.T. & Mäki, J. (2001). Individual-level relationships between social capital and self-rated health in a bilingual community. Preventive Medicine 32(2):148-155.
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Knapstad, M., Löve, J., Holmgren, K., Hensing, G. & Øverland, S. (2016). Registry-based analysis of participator representativeness: a source of concern for sickness absence research? BMJ Open http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012372
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Paljärvi, T., Suominen, S., Koskenvuo, M., Winter, T. & Kauhanen, J. (2009). The differences in drinking patterns between Finnish-speaking majority and Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. European Journal of Publich Health 19:278-284.
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Pichler, S. (2015). Sickness absence, moral hazard, and the business cycle. Health Economics 24(6):692-710.
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Reini, K. & Nyqvist, F. (2017). Sense of mastery differences between working-age Swedish- and Finnish-speaking Finns: a population based study. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 45(4):404-410.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494817696183
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Saarela, J. & Finnäs, F. (2005a). Mortality inequality in two native population groups. Population Studies 59(3):313-320.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00324720500249372
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Saarela, J. & Finnäs, F. (2011). Family origin and mortality: prospective Finnish cohort study. BMC Public Health 11:385.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-385
Saarela, J. & Finnäs, F. (2016). The ethno-linguistic community and premature death: a register based study of working-aged men in Finland. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 3:373-380.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-015-0163-2
Salmela, E., Lappalainen, T., Liu, J., Sistonen, P., Andersen, P.M., Schreiber, S., Savontaus, M.L., Czene, K., Lahermo, P., Hall, P. & Kere, J. (2011). Swedish population substructure revealed by genome-wide single nucleotide polymorfism data. PLoS ONE 6(2):e16747.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016747
Sipilä, P. & Martikainen, P. (2009). Language-group mortality differentials in Finland in 1988-2004: assessment of the contribution of cause of death, sex and age. European Journal of Public Health 19(5):492-498.
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckp074
Suvisaari, J., Opler, M., Lindbohm, M-L. & Sallmen, M. (2014). Risk of schizophrenia and minority status: a comparison of the Swedish-speaking minority and the Finnish-speaking majority in Finland. Schizophrenia Research 159(2-3):303-308.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2014.09.014
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0920-9964(14)70185-9
Svedberg, P., Ropponen, A., Lichtenstein, P. & Alexanderson, K. (2010). Are self-report of disability pension and long-term sickness absence accurate? Comparisons of self-reported interview data with national register data in a Swedish twin cohort. BMC Public Health 10:763.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-763
THL Sotkanet (2017). Tilasto- ja indikaattoripankki Sotkanet: hyvinvointi, terveys ja toimintakyky. Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos. https://www.sotkanet.fi/sotkanet/fi/haku?g=470 [Accessed October 2017]
Twisk, J.W.R. (2004). Longitudinal data analysis. A comparison between generalized estimating equations and random coefficient analysis. European Journal of Epidemiology 19(8):769-776.
https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJEP.0000036572.00663.f2
Virtanen, M., Kivimäki, M., Vahtera, J., Elovainio, M., Sund, R., Virtanen, P. & Ferrie, J.E. (2006). Sickness absence as a risk factor for a job termination, unemployment, and disability pension among temporary and permanent employees. Occupational & Environmental Medicine 63(3):212-217.
https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2005.020297
Volanen S-M., Suominen, S., Lahelma, E., Koskenvuo, M. & Silventoinen, K. (2006). Sense of coherence and its determinants: a comparative study of the Finnish-speaking majority and the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 34(5):515-525.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14034940600585812
Wang, M. (2014). Generalized estimating equations in longitudinal data analysis: a review and recent developments. Advances in Statistics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/303728
https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/303728
Whitaker, S.C. (2001). The management of sickness absence. Occupational & Environmental Medicine 58(6):420-424. doi: 10.1136/oem.58.6.420
https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.58.6.420
Zeger SL, Liang K-Y. (1986). Longitudinal data analysis for discrete and continuous outcomes. Biometrics 42(1):121–130.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2531248
https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494809346871
Gjesdal, S., Ringdal, P., Haug, K. & Maeland, J.G. (2004). Predictors of disability pension in long-term sickness absence: results from a population-based and prospective study in Norway 1994-1999. European Journal of Public Health 14(4):398-405.
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/14.4.398
Helgesson, M., Johansson, B., Wernroth, L. & Vingård, E. (2016). Exposure to different lengths of sick leave and subsequent work absence among young adults. BMC Public Health 16:51.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2679-0
Hyyppä, M.T. & Mäki, J. (2001). Individual-level relationships between social capital and self-rated health in a bilingual community. Preventive Medicine 32(2):148-155.
https://doi.org/10.1006/pmed.2000.0782
Kela (2017). Kelan sairausvakuutustilasto 2016. https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/224317 [Accessed October 2017]
Kivimäki, M., Ferrie, J., Hagberg, J., Head, J., Westerlund, H., Vahtera, J. & Alexanderson, K. (2007). Sick leave as a risk marker of disability pension: 11-year prospective cohort study in Sweden. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 61(10):915-920.
https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2006.055426
Knapstad, M., Löve, J., Holmgren, K., Hensing, G. & Øverland, S. (2016). Registry-based analysis of participator representativeness: a source of concern for sickness absence research? BMJ Open http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012372
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012372
Koskinen, S. & Martelin, T. (2003). Why is mortality low among the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland? Yearbook of Population Research in Finland 39:15-31.
Lehtonen, V-M. (2010). Miten hallita sairauspoissaoloja? Valtiovarainministeriö. vm.fi/dms-portlet/document/0/376748 [Accessed January 2017]
Liang K, Zeger SL. (1986). Longitudinal data analysis using generalized linear models. Biometrika 73(1): 45–51.
https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/73.1.13
Nyqvist, F., Finnäs, F., Jakobsson, G. & Koskinen, S. (2008). The effect of social capital on health: the case of two language groups in Finland. Health & Place 14(2):347-360.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.09.001
Nyqvist, F. & Martelin, T. (2007). Skillnader i självskattad hälsa mellan svensk- och finskspråkiga I Finland. Sosiaalilääketieteellinen aikakauslehti. Journal of Social Medicine 44:78-86.
Paljärvi, T., Suominen, S., Koskenvuo, M., Winter, T. & Kauhanen, J. (2009). The differences in drinking patterns between Finnish-speaking majority and Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. European Journal of Publich Health 19:278-284.
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckp007
Pichler, S. (2015). Sickness absence, moral hazard, and the business cycle. Health Economics 24(6):692-710.
https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3054
Reini, K. & Nyqvist, F. (2017). Sense of mastery differences between working-age Swedish- and Finnish-speaking Finns: a population based study. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 45(4):404-410.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494817696183
Saarela, J. & Finnäs, F. (2002). Language-group differences in very early retirement in Finland. Demographic Research 7:49-66.
https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2002.7.3
Saarela, J. & Finnäs, F. (2005a). Mortality inequality in two native population groups. Population Studies 59(3):313-320.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00324720500249372
Saarela, J. & Finnäs, F. (2005b). Geographical extraction and the Finnish-Swedish health differential in Finland. Yearbook of Population Research in Finland 41:61-73.
Saarela, J. & Finnäs, F. (2006). Regional mortality variation in Finland: a study of two population groups. Genus 62(2):169-211.
Saarela, J. & Finnäs, F. (2011). Family origin and mortality: prospective Finnish cohort study. BMC Public Health 11:385.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-385
Saarela, J. & Finnäs, F. (2016). The ethno-linguistic community and premature death: a register based study of working-aged men in Finland. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 3:373-380.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-015-0163-2
Salmela, E., Lappalainen, T., Liu, J., Sistonen, P., Andersen, P.M., Schreiber, S., Savontaus, M.L., Czene, K., Lahermo, P., Hall, P. & Kere, J. (2011). Swedish population substructure revealed by genome-wide single nucleotide polymorfism data. PLoS ONE 6(2):e16747.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016747
Sipilä, P. & Martikainen, P. (2009). Language-group mortality differentials in Finland in 1988-2004: assessment of the contribution of cause of death, sex and age. European Journal of Public Health 19(5):492-498.
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckp074
Suvisaari, J., Opler, M., Lindbohm, M-L. & Sallmen, M. (2014). Risk of schizophrenia and minority status: a comparison of the Swedish-speaking minority and the Finnish-speaking majority in Finland. Schizophrenia Research 159(2-3):303-308.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2014.09.014
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0920-9964(14)70185-9
Svedberg, P., Ropponen, A., Lichtenstein, P. & Alexanderson, K. (2010). Are self-report of disability pension and long-term sickness absence accurate? Comparisons of self-reported interview data with national register data in a Swedish twin cohort. BMC Public Health 10:763.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-763
THL Sotkanet (2017). Tilasto- ja indikaattoripankki Sotkanet: hyvinvointi, terveys ja toimintakyky. Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos. https://www.sotkanet.fi/sotkanet/fi/haku?g=470 [Accessed October 2017]
Twisk, J.W.R. (2004). Longitudinal data analysis. A comparison between generalized estimating equations and random coefficient analysis. European Journal of Epidemiology 19(8):769-776.
https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJEP.0000036572.00663.f2
Virtanen, M., Kivimäki, M., Vahtera, J., Elovainio, M., Sund, R., Virtanen, P. & Ferrie, J.E. (2006). Sickness absence as a risk factor for a job termination, unemployment, and disability pension among temporary and permanent employees. Occupational & Environmental Medicine 63(3):212-217.
https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2005.020297
Volanen S-M., Suominen, S., Lahelma, E., Koskenvuo, M. & Silventoinen, K. (2006). Sense of coherence and its determinants: a comparative study of the Finnish-speaking majority and the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 34(5):515-525.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14034940600585812
Wang, M. (2014). Generalized estimating equations in longitudinal data analysis: a review and recent developments. Advances in Statistics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/303728
https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/303728
Whitaker, S.C. (2001). The management of sickness absence. Occupational & Environmental Medicine 58(6):420-424. doi: 10.1136/oem.58.6.420
https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.58.6.420
Zeger SL, Liang K-Y. (1986). Longitudinal data analysis for discrete and continuous outcomes. Biometrics 42(1):121–130.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2531248
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| DOI | |
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| Published |
December 20, 2017
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| Issue | |
| Section |
Articles
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| Keywords | Finland, language groups, sickness allowance |
| How to Cite |
Reini, K. S., & Saarela, J. (2017). Differences in Sickness Allowance Receipt between Swedish Speakers and Finnish Speakers in Finland: A Register-based Study. Nordic Yearbook of Population Research, 52, 43-58. https://doi.org/10.23979/fypr.66598
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Copyright (c) 2017 Kaarina Susanna Reini, Jan Saarela  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Authors who publish with the Nordic Yearbook of Population Research agree to the following terms:
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