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Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-sjp-10.1177_14034948231176108 for Workplace gender composition and sickness absence: A register-based study from Sweden by Inger Haukenes and Anne Hammarström in Scandinavian Journal of Public Health

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-sjp-10.1177_14034948231176108 for Workplace gender composition and sickness absence: A register-based study from Sweden by Inger Haukenes and Anne Hammarström in Scandinavian Journal of Public Health

Introduction Studying the relationship between unemployment and health raises many methodological challenges. In the current study, the aim was to evaluate the sensitivity of estimates based on different ways of measuring unemployment and the choice of statistical model. Methods The Northern Swedish cohort was used, and two follow-up surveys thereof from 1995 and 2007, as well as register data about unemployment. Self-reported current unemployment, self-reported accumulated unemployment and register-based accumulated unemployment were used to measure unemployment and its effect on self-reported health was evaluated. Analyses were conducted with G-computation, logistic regression and three estimators for the inverse probability weighting propensity scores, and 11 potentially confounding variables were part of the analyses. Results were presented with absolute differences in the proportion with poor self-reported health between unemployed and employed individuals, except when logistic regression was used alone. Results Of the initial 1083 pupils in the cohort, our analyses vary between 488–693 individuals defined as employed and 61–214 individuals defined as unemployed. In the analyses, the deviation was large between the unemployment measures, with a difference of at least 2.5% in effect size when unemployed was compared with employed for the self-reported and register-based unemployment modes. The choice of statistical method only had a small influence on effect estimates and the deviation was in most cases lower than 1%. When models were compared based on the choice of potential confounders in the analytical model, the deviations were rarely above 0.6% when comparing models with 4 and 11 potential confounders. Our variable for health selection was the only one that strongly affected estimates when it was not part of the statistical model. Conclusions How unemployment is measured is highly important when the relationship between unemployment and health is estimated. However, misspecifications of the statistical model or choice of analytical method might not matter much for estimates except for the inclusion of a variable measuring health status before becoming unemployed. Our results can guide researchers when analysing similar research questions. Model diagnostics is commonly lacking in publications, but they remain very important for validation of analyses.

Additional file 2. Characteristics for the study populations divided into employment groups for the unemployment modes.

Additional file 1. Questions about labour market status between follow-ups of the Northern Swedish Cohort in the surveys in 1995 and 2007.

Additional file 1. Interview guide.

Empirical results of analyses of step 1 and step 2 (see Tables 1 and 2a, b). Additional file 1 shows the list of references. (DOCX 76 kb)

The questions and possible responses for amount of alcohol intake on each drinking occasion, with each response alternative translated to a value. (DOCX 12 kb)

Diagnostics of the inverse probably weights for the reduced model. (DOCX 15 kb)

Unstratified estimates of the odds ratio for variables in the logistic regression models. (DOCX 14 kb)

Adolescents (N = 1,281; M age = 15.2 years, SD = 0.51 years) from a state-wide sample of schools provided information about their psychological well-being, family functioning, extraversion, and perceived physical attractiveness and weight, using a questionnaire completed at school. Consistent with previous research, girls were significantly more likely than boys to be dissatisfied with their weight and physical appearance, and these factors explained significantly more variation in self-esteem than in life satisfaction or other measures of psychological well-being. The strong relationship between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem for adolescent girls was not moderated by school type (single sex or educational). However, girls who were dissatisfied but psychologically well adjusted tended to be more extraverted, have more close friends and receive greater family support. Refereed/Peer-reviewed