Harmful alcohol habits were no more common in a sample of newly sick-listed Swedish women and men compared with a random population sample.

AIMS: To estimate harmful alcohol habits in a sample of incident sick-listed individuals compared with a random sample from the general population taking social background, health and work-related factors into account.
METHODS: Data for this cross-sectional questionnaire study were collected in 2008 in the Västra Götaland region, Sweden. The study population (19-64 year olds) consisted of 2888 consecutive incident sick-leave sample (ISS) and 3567 individuals from a random population sample (RPS). The mailed questionnaire included Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test and validated instruments on health and work-related factors. Socio-demographic data came from register data. Analyses were made with χ(2) tests and logistic regression analyses.
RESULTS: No differences in prevalence of harmful alcohol habits were found between men in the ISS (22%) and the RPS (21%). Compared with women in the ISS, a higher proportion of women in the RPS were likely to report harmful alcohol habits [14 versus 9% (P < 0.001)]. This difference was confirmed in the logistic regression analyses where women in the RPS had higher odds of having harmful alcohol habits compared with women in the ISS [odds ratio (OR) = 1.54 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23-1.89)]. Even after controlling for significant confounders (age, low income, high self-reported health and high level of perceived symptoms), we found that the differences in harmful alcohol habits remained [OR = 1.44 (95% CI: 1.16-1.81)].
CONCLUSIONS: Harmful alcohol habits were no commoner in men and women who belonged to the sample of incident sick-leave cases. Future studies are needed to analyse the predictive value of harmful alcohol habits on sickness absence length and the time until return to work after sickness absence.