Table 6. Associations of multiple somatic symptoms with sickness absence for >5 days in past 12 months for non-musculoskeletal reasons when one of the seven somatic symptoms was ignored.

Somatic symptom disregarded	Number of somatic symptoms
	1		2		3		4		5		6		≥1 somatic symptom
	PRRa	(95%CI)	PRRa	(95%CI)	PRRa	(95%CI)	PRRa	(95%CI)	PRRa	(95%CI)	PRRa	(95%CI)	PRRa	(95%CI)	PAFb (%)
Faintness or dizziness	1.4	(1.2–1.6)	2.0	(1.7–2.3)	2.4	(1.9–3.0)	2.4	(1.9–3.1)	2.8	(2.1–3.8)	3.0	(2.3–3.9)	1.8	(1.6–2.1)	29.3
Pains in heart or chest	1.4	(1.2–1.7)	1.8	(1.6–2.1)	2.3	(1.9–2.8)	2.8	(2.2–3.5)	2.6	(2.0–3.3)	3.6	(2.7–4.9)	1.8	(1.6–2.2)	29.6
Nausea or upset stomach	1.4	(1.2–1.7)	1.9	(1.6–2.2)	2.4	(2.0–2.9)	2.7	(2.1–3.4)	2.6	(1.9–3.6)	2.9	(2.1–3.9)	1.8	(1.6–2.1)	28.0
Trouble getting breath	1.4	(1.2–1.6)	1.9	(1.6–2.2)	2.1	(1.7–2.7)	2.7	(2.2–3.3)	2.9	(2.1–3.8)	2.9	(2.1–3.9)	1.8	(1.6–2.1)	29.4
Hot or cold spells	1.6	(1.3–1.8)	2.0	(1.7–2.3)	2.5	(2.0–3.1)	2.7	(2.1–3.5)	2.9	(2.2–3.9)	2.9	(2.2–3.8)	2.0	(1.7–2.3)	30.4
Feeling weak in parts of your body	1.4	(1.2–1.6)	1.9	(1.6–2.3)	2.4	(2.0–3.0)	2.9	(2.3–3.6)	3.0	(2.1–4.1)	2.9	(2.2–3.8)	1.8	(1.6–2.1)	27.1
Numbness or tingling in parts of your body	1.5	(1.2–1.7)	2.0	(1.7–2.3)	2.7	(2.3–3.3)	2.6	(2.1–3.3)	2.5	(1.7–3.7)	3.1	(2.4–4.0)	1.9	(1.6–2.2)	29.5

^a Prevalence rate ratio, adjusted for sex and age (in four 10-year strata), for sickness absence in the past 12 months for non-musculoskeletal reasons vs. 0 days of sickness absence in participants with the specified number of somatic symptoms compared with no somatic symptoms. The specified number of symptoms was from the total of six that remained when the symptom in the left-hand column was disregarded.

^b Population attributable fraction