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Additional file 1: Supplementary Fig. 1. Graph depicting percentage of all-cause SA in men between 1993 and 2000, in intervention and control group respectively. Supplementary Fig. 2. Graph depicting percentage of all-cause SA in women between 1993 and 2000, in intervention and control group respectively. Supplementary Table 1. Descriptive statistics for employees in the intervention group (IA) and control group (no IA) in 2000 and 2005, musculoskeletal and psychological subpopulations (those with SA > 0). Supplementary Table 2. Comparison of DID analyses for musculoskeletal SA prevalence and duration in original analysis to those with graded ( 0 in the intervention (IA) group and control (non-IA) group, by diagnosis, industry and gender.

Background The Norwegian Agreement for a More Inclusive Working Life (the IA Agreement) aims to reduce sickness absence (SA) and increase work participation. Potential impacts of the IA Agreement have not been thoroughly evaluated. The study aimed to estimate the impact of the IA Agreement on musculoskeletal and psychological SA prevalence and duration among young adult men and women, and to identify whether the impact was modified by economic activity or SA grade. Methods Data from national registries were combined for 372,199 individuals born in Norway 1967–1976. ICPC-2 codes identified musculoskeletal (L) and psychological (P) diagnoses. A difference-in-difference method compared prevalence and mean duration of first SA > 16 days between 2000 and 2005 separately for men and women working in IA companies relative to non-IA companies. Analyses were adjusted for mean company size and stratified by economic activity and SA grade (full/graded). Average marginal change was calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results The impacts of the IA Agreement on SA prevalence were mixed as the direction and size of marginal changes varied according to diagnosis, gender, and economic activity. However, there was a general tendency towards reduced mean SA duration for both diagnosis groups, and in particular men with musculoskeletal SA (− 16.6 days, 95% CI -25.3, − 7.9). Individuals with full SA in IA companies had greater reductions in mean SA duration. Only the wholesale and retail economic activity indicated a beneficial contribution of the IA Agreement for both SA prevalence and duration, in both diagnoses and genders. Conclusions Potential impacts of the IA Agreement on SA in young men and women varied according to diagnosis and economic activity. However, results indicated that the IA Agreement could reduce SA duration. Further research should identify reasons for gender and economic activity differences.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Description: LSAS in intervention and control group in the pre intervention period 1998–2000. Figure S2. Description: Risk of LSAS in intervention and control group by sex, adjusted for age.

Additional file 2: Table S1. Description: Distribution and crude LSAS risks for female employees according to year, intervention status, industrial sector, and company size. Table S2. Description: Distribution and crude LSAS risks for male employees according to year, intervention status, industrial sector, and company size.

ObjectiveAnimal farming entails a variety of potential exposures, including infectious agents, endotoxins and pesticides, which may play a role in the aetiology of lymphohaematopoietic cancers (LHCs). The aim of this study was to assess whether farming specific animal species is associated with the risk of overall LHC or its subtypes.MethodsData from three prospective cohort studies in the USA, France and Norway which are part of the Agricultural Cohort consortium and which collected information about animal farming and cancer were used. Analyses included 316 270 farmers and farm workers. Adjusted Cox models were used to investigate the associations of 13 histological subtypes of LHC (n=3282) with self-reported livestock (cattle, pigs and sheep/goats) and poultry (ever/never and numbers raised) farming. Cohort-specific HRs were combined using random-effects meta-analysis.ResultsEver animal farming in general or farming specific animal species was not meta-associated with overall LHC. The risk of myeloid malignancies decreased with increasing number of livestock (p trend=0.01). Increased risk of myeloproliferative neoplasms was seen with increasing number of sheep/goats (p trend ConclusionsThis large-scale study of three prospective agricultural cohorts showed no association between animal farming and LHC risk, but few associations between specific animal species and LHC subtypes were observed. The observed differences in associations by countries warrant further investigations.

Background Pesticides are commonly used in agriculture, and previous studies endorsed the need to further investigate the possible association between their use and risk of lymphoid malignancies in agricultural workers. Methods We investigated the relationship of ever use of 14 selected pesticide chemical groups and 33 individual active chemical ingredients with non-Hodgkin lymphoid malignancies (NHL) overall or major subtypes, in a pooled analysis of three large agricultural worker cohorts. Pesticide use was derived from self-reported history of crops cultivated combined with crop-exposure matrices (France and Norway) or self-reported lifetime use of active ingredients (USA). Cox regression models were used to estimate cohort-specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), which were combined using random effects meta-analysis to calculate meta-HRs. Results During follow-up, 2430 NHL cases were diagnosed in 316 270 farmers accruing 3 574 815 person-years under risk. Most meta-HRs suggested no association. Moderately elevated meta-HRs were seen for: NHL and ever use of terbufos (meta-HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.00–1.39); chronic lymphocytic leukaemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma and deltamethrin (1.48, 1.06–2.07); and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and glyphosate (1.36, 1.00–1.85); as well as inverse associations of NHL with the broader groups of organochlorine insecticides (0.86, 0.74–0.99) and phenoxy herbicides (0.81, 0.67–0.98), but not with active ingredients within these groups, after adjusting for exposure to other pesticides. Conclusions Associations of pesticides with NHL appear to be subtype- and chemical-specific. Non-differential exposure misclassification was an important limitation, showing the need for refinement of exposure estimates and exposure–response analyses.

Appendix. MoBa questionnaire text. Table S1. Covariate distribution and relation to mean years of education and sickness absence risk. Table S2. Associations between years of education and sickness absence according to data source. Table S3. Educational gradient in sickness absence risk according to data source and completeness of data. (DOCX 33 kb)

Lifting and high psychosocial strain at work has both been associated with adverse birth outcomes, but no studies have investigated the consequences for pregnancy, when they co-occur. Hence, we aimed to investigate the combined effect of lifting and psychosocial strain at work on pregnancy and foetal growth, using the Danish National Birth Cohort (children born 1996-2002). Women were included if pregnant with singletons at gestational age (GA) 22 and worked ≥30 hours/week (N=47,582). Work exposures were extracted from an interview at GA 16 (±3.0). We applied a continuous lifting variable from four questions about heavy and medium lifting, and a psychosocial strain variable, from two questions about demand and influence combined into the four categories of the Demand-Control Model. Pregnancy outcomes were available from the Danish Medical Birth Register: Preterm birth (week 22-36); term birth (week 37-44) but small for GA; term birth but large for GA; and term birth with normal weight (reference group). The overall adjusted multinomial logistic regression analysis showed significant interaction between lifting and job strain with respect to the four outcomes all together (p=0.007). Stratified analyses on the psychosocial exposure showed women in the high strain group had an increased risk of preterm birth (OR=1.04; 95%-CI 1.01-1.06) and having a child large for GA (OR=1.04; 95%-CI 1.01-1.06) for each additional 50 kg lifted. For women in the low strain, passive and active groups, lifting was not associated with the outcomes. Co-occurrence of high strain and lifting seems to increase the risk of adverse birth outcomes.