Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2020 Oct 30;10(10):e038239.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038239.

Descriptive study of sickness absence in Spanish regions in 2018: database study

Matilde Leonor Alba-Jurado  1 , María José Aguado-Benedí  2 , Noelia Moreno-Morales  3 , Maria Teresa Labajos-Manzanares  3 , Rocío Martín-Valero  4
Affiliations
Observational Study

Descriptive study of sickness absence in Spanish regions in 2018: database study

Matilde Leonor Alba-Jurado et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: To provide a wide and thorough description of sickness absence (SA) in Spain, focussing on the different regions of the country and the main characteristics of SA.

Methods: A study of the SA spells in Spain, managed by the medical units of the National Institute of Social Security in 2018. The geographical scope of this observational study is the regions (Autonomous Community). Incidence, prevalence, and average duration SA in employees and self-employed are described. The study also describes the differences between non-work-related SA and work-related SA. In age and sex variables, the incidence and the average duration are described. The average duration by Diagnostic Chapters (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10)) and the highest number of SA spells by occupational activity and diagnosis are analysed.

Results: A total of 540 045 SA spells are analysed by non-work-related SA and 63 441 by work-related SA. The national average prevalence in non-work-related SA spells is 32.98/1000 among employed and 30.48/1000 among self-employed; in work-related SA spells, the prevalence is 3.99/1000. The national incidence in non-work-related SA spells is 24.8/1000 for employees and 9.51/1000 for self-employed workers; in work-related SA spells the incidence is 3.55/1000. The average duration is 58.67 days, with the longest duration being neoplasms and the shortest corresponding to infectious disease. The Community of Madrid shows the lowest prevalence, incidence and average duration in work-related SA. Influenza is the diagnosis that generates the largest number of SA spells. Activities of call centres and temporary employment agency activities are the occupations that have the highest number of SA spells.

Conclusions: The biggest differences are found in the incidence and average duration, between the non-work-related SA spells and work-related SA. If those characteristics of the SA in which a region is more in deficit are known, it will be possible to do better management of the SA.

Keywords: occupational & industrial medicine; preventive medicine; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Spasova S, Bouget D, Vanhercke B. Sick pay and sickness benefit schemes in the European Union. Background report for the Social Protection Committee’s In-Depth Review on sickness benefits 2016.
    1. Ministerio de Trabajo, M. y S. S Presupuestos de la Seguridad social, 2019.
    1. Lusinyan L, Bonato L. Work absence in Europe. IMF Staff Pap 2007;54:475–538. 10.1057/palgrave.imfsp.9450016 - DOI
    1. Alba-Ramírez A. La incapacidad temporal para El trabajo: análisis económico de SU incidencia Y SU duración. 150 Madrid: Univ Carlos III, 2009.
    1. Peña Longobardo LM, Reneo A, Oliva-Moreno J, et al. . Evaluación de las pérdidas laborales provocadas Enfermedades Y lesiones en España en El año 2009. Rev Evaluación Programas y Políticas Públicas 2016;1:66.

Publication types