Factors associated with returning to work after long term absence due to mental disorders

If there is a chance for a person's ability to work to be restored through treatment or rehabilitation, a temporary disability pension may be granted in Finland. We examined the personal, socio-economic and healthcare-related factors associated with return to work (RTW) after the receipt of temporary disability pension. The study material contains comprehensive register data of individuals who were granted a temporary disability pension due to a mental disorder (ICD10: F10-F69, F80-F99) for the first time between 2010 and 2012 (N = 8615). We applied clustering analysis in order to reveal different patterns of returning to work after receipt of temporary disability pension and utilized multinominal regression analysis to examine gender-specific determinants for RTW and partial RTW in a controlled setting. Being a lower-grade employee remarkably promoted RTW for women (OR 7.85 95% CI 5.35-11.51), as did being a manual worker for men (OR 5.47 95% CI 3.48-8.78). Moreover, both active male (OR 3.51 95% CI 2.19-5.61) and female manual workers (OR 2.44 95% CI 1.66-3.59) had a higher probability of partial RTW compared to people who were initially unemployed. In addition, psychotherapy and vocational rehabilitation were associated with an increased probability of RTW. After 3 years from the initial temporary pensioning, almost two-thirds of the study population (69% of men and 64% of women) still had a temporary or by then a permanent disability pension due to a mental disorder. This and further research could improve the ability to recognize those subjects more likely to return to work than others.

Automated summary

The study found that being a lower-grade employee significantly promoted return to work for women, while being a manual worker did the same for men. In addition, psychotherapy and vocational rehabilitation were associated with an increased probability of return to work.