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Where are older workers with chronic conditions employed?
Author(s) -
Schofield Deborah J,
Fletcher Susan L,
Earnest Arul,
Passey Megan E,
Shrestha Rupendra N
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01591.x
Subject(s) - workforce , limiting , medicine , chronic disease , work (physics) , occupational safety and health , gerontology , environmental health , demography , economics , family medicine , engineering , mechanical engineering , pathology , sociology , economic growth
Objective: To determine which industries and occupational groups are associated with employment of older workers with chronic work‐limiting health conditions in Australia. Design and participants: Analysis of data from the 2005 National Health Survey for 4228 workers aged 45–64 years. Main outcome measures: Rate of employment by industry and occupation of older workers with specific chronic conditions. Results: Compared with the reference industry of property and business services, workers in the retail trade industry were found to be more likely to suffer from musculoskeletal conditions (relative risk ratio [RRR], 1.56; 95% CI, 1.04–2.36), while those in health and community services had higher rates of cardiovascular disease (RRR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.11–4.24). Compared with the reference occupation group of professionals, managers and administrators were less likely to suffer neoplasms (RRR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.07–0.97). Similar rates of chronic disease were seen across other occupations. Conclusion: Increasing rates of chronic health conditions are unlikely to have an even impact across the workforce, as the rate of employment of older workers with these conditions varies between industries.