Can a healthy lifestyle prevent disability pension among female healthcare workers with good and poor self-rated health? Prospective cohort study with 11-year register follow-up

BACKGROUND: Our purpose was to investigate whether healthy lifestyle habits prevent disability pension among female healthcare workers.

METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study with an 11-year register follow-up in which 8159 female healthcare workers from Denmark completed a questionnaire concerning self-rated health, work environment, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), smoking, and body mass index (BMI). Data on disability benefit payments were obtained from the Danish Register for Evaluation of Marginalization during an 11-year follow-up. Potential confounders included age, occupational education, psychosocial work factors, and physical exertion during work.

RESULTS: Among workers in good health at baseline, smoking, obesity, and low levels of LTPA were risk factors for disability pension during 11-year follow-up. Among workers with poor health, only low levels of physical activity were a risk factor for disability pension.

CONCLUSIONS: This underscores the importance of a healthy lifestyle, specially being physically active, for preventing premature exit from the labor market in female healthcare workers.