Risk factor | Frequency of risk factor in study sample | Any COVID-19 sickness absence starting 9 March to 31 July 2020 | Any prolonged‡ COVID-19 sickness absence starting 9 March to 16 July 2020 | |||
N | (%)* | N | (%)† | N | (%)† | |
Sex | ||||||
Female | 696 357 | 77.1 | 72 420 | 10.4 | 16 413 | 2.4 |
Male | 206 456 | 22.9 | 20 460 | 9.9 | 4575 | 2.2 |
Age (years) | ||||||
<30 | 109 277 | 12.1 | 12 941 | 11.8 | 1587 | 1.5 |
30–34 | 107 563 | 11.9 | 12 043 | 11.2 | 1954 | 1.8 |
35–39 | 103 499 | 11.5 | 10 830 | 10.5 | 2111 | 2.0 |
40–44 | 113 523 | 12.6 | 12 421 | 10.9 | 2752 | 2.4 |
45–49 | 125 802 | 13.9 | 13 863 | 11.0 | 3572 | 2.8 |
50–54 | 133 721 | 14.8 | 13 403 | 10.0 | 3686 | 2.8 |
55–60 | 133 908 | 14.8 | 11 732 | 8.8 | 3375 | 2.5 |
>60 | 75 520 | 8.4 | 5647 | 7.5 | 1951 | 2.6 |
Ethnicity | ||||||
White | 687 174 | 76.1 | 63 630 | 9.3 | 12 495 | 1.8 |
South Asian | 61 861 | 6.9 | 8033 | 13.0 | 2376 | 3.8 |
Other or unspecified Asian | 37 956 | 4.2 | 7402 | 19.5 | 2273 | 6.0 |
Black | 54 267 | 6.0 | 6705 | 12.4 | 2054 | 3.8 |
Mixed | 16 026 | 1.8 | 1838 | 11.5 | 385 | 2.4 |
Other | 12 937 | 1.4 | 1982 | 15.3 | 622 | 4.8 |
Unknown | 32 592 | 3.6 | 3290 | 10.1 | 783 | 2.4 |
Episodes of sickness absence in 2019 | ||||||
0 | 302 258 | 33.5 | 20 840 | 6.9 | 4361 | 1.4 |
1 | 234 871 | 26.0 | 22 805 | 9.7 | 5242 | 2.2 |
2–3 | 267 763 | 29.7 | 33 707 | 12.6 | 7972 | 3.0 |
>3 | 97 921 | 10.8 | 15 528 | 15.9 | 3413 | 3.5 |
Staff group at 9 March 2020 | ||||||
Administrative and clerical | 193 983 | 21.5 | 11 236 | 5.8 | 2340 | 1.2 |
Additional clinical services | 176 558 | 19.6 | 23 967 | 13.6 | 6148 | 3.5 |
Additional professional scientific and technical | 40 874 | 4.5 | 2960 | 7.2 | 509 | 1.2 |
Allied health professionals | 67 067 | 7.4 | 7584 | 11.3 | 1192 | 1.8 |
Estates and ancillary | 58 313 | 6.5 | 4684 | 8.0 | 1212 | 2.1 |
Healthcare scientists | 20 657 | 2.3 | 1492 | 7.2 | 241 | 1.2 |
Medical and dental | 76 184 | 8.4 | 6203 | 8.1 | 1061 | 1.4 |
Nursing and midwifery registered | 265 486 | 29.4 | 34 390 | 13.0 | 8232 | 3.1 |
Students | 1797 | 0.2 | 201 | 11.2 | 24 | 1.3 |
Multiple or unknown | 1894 | 0.2 | 163 | 8.6 | 29 | 1.5 |
Exposure category at 9 March 2020§ | ||||||
Care of patients much more likely to have COVID-19 than general population | 64 977 | 7.2 | 9004 | 13.9 | 1514 | 2.3 |
Care for patients who may be more likely to have COVID-19 than general population | 292 692 | 32.4 | 41 808 | 14.3 | 10 651 | 3.6 |
Care of patients with similar or lower prevalence of COVID-19 than general population | 250 863 | 27.8 | 22 262 | 8.9 | 4682 | 1.9 |
No patient care but often in areas where patients have higher prevalence of COVID-19 than general population | 554 | 0.1 | 39 | 7.0 | 11 | 2.0 |
No patient care but often in areas where patients have similar or lower prevalence of COVID-19 than general population | 16 295 | 1.8 | 1686 | 10.3 | 246 | 1.5 |
No patient care, occasionally in patient areas | 155 963 | 17.3 | 10 944 | 7.0 | 2538 | 1.6 |
Unlikely to be in patient areas, but work with material potentially contaminated by COVID-19 | 23 659 | 2.6 | 1976 | 8.4 | 344 | 1.5 |
Other or unknown | 97 810 | 10.8 | 5161 | 5.3 | 1002 | 1.0 |
*Prevalence % in study sample (total N=902 813).
†Prevalence % among those with risk factor.
‡Prolonged COVID-19 sickness absence defined as episodes lasting >14 days.
§Exposure categories as specified in job-exposure matrix. For more information see online supplemental file A.