Table 3.
Characteristics of the work instability group compared with the group of people with short sick leave (< 35 days) due to COVID-19
| Group with recurrent sick leave | Group with one shorter period of sick leave | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants, n | 242 | 5343 | |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.011 | ||
| Men | 77 (31.8) | 2143 (40.1) | |
| Women | 165 (68.2) | 3200 (59.9) | |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 48.7 (10.4) | 46.9 (11.4) | 0.023 |
| Country of birth, n (%) | 0.015 | ||
| Sweden | 177 (73.1) | 3418 (64.0) | |
| European countries except for Sweden | 23 (9.5) | 650 (12.2) | |
| Countries outside of Europe | 42 (17.4) | 1270 (23.8) | |
| Educational level, n (%) | 0.001 | ||
| Primary school (≤9 years) | 25 (10.3) | 507 (9.6) | |
| Secondary school (10–12 years) | 99 (40.9) | 2672 (50.5) | |
| Short university education (13–14 years) | 28 (11.6) | 772 (14.6) | |
| Long university education (≥15 years) | 90 (37.2) | 1342 (25.4) | |
| Income: 1000 SEK median (IQR) | 276 (103) | 289 (117) | 0.042 |
| Marital status, n (%) | 0.006 | ||
| Married | 95 (39.3) | 2576 (48.3) | |
| Single | 88 (36.4) | 1831 (34.3) | |
| Divorced and widow/widower | 59 (24.4) | 929 (17.4) | |
| Sick leave prior to COVID-19, n (%) | 55 (22.7) | 735 (13.8) | < 0.001 |
| Employment status, n (%) | 0.030 | ||
| Employment | 225 (93.4) | 5160 (96.6) | |
| Self-employment | 9 (3.7) | 105 (2.0) | |
| Unemployment | 7 (2.9) | 77 (1.4) | |
| In-hospital care due to COVID-19, n (%) | 46 (19.0) | 966 (18.1) | 0.733 |