SHORT REPORT

Fatigue as a predictor of work disability

L G P M van Amelsvoort¹, I J Kant¹, A J H M Beurskens¹, C A P Schröer², G M H Swaen¹

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, Netherlands
² Department of Medical Sociology, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Ir LGPM van Amelsvoort, Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, Netherlands;
lgpm.vanamelsvoort{at}epid.unimaas.nl

The objective of this study was to assess the predictive value of fatigue for work disability on medical grounds within the framework of a large prospective cohort study. Analyses were carried out on the data of 10 927 employees with a follow up of 32 months. We found that fatigue, as measured with the Checklist Individual Strength, was a strong predictor of subsequent permanent work disability. The for age, gender, presence of a chronic medical condition, and educational level adjusted relative risks were, for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fatigue score quartile against the first, respectively: 2.17 (1.17–4.03), 3.30 (1.67–6.52), and 12.8 (5.14–32.1).

Keywords: disability pension; epidemiology; fatigue

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