Health Behaviors and Disability Pension in Swedish Twins
Author Information
Author(s): Ropponen Annina, Narusyte Jurgita, Alexanderson Kristina, Svedberg Pia
Primary Institution: University of Eastern Finland; Karolinska Institutet
Hypothesis
A stable pattern of health-related behavior may have an impact on the risk of disability pension due to musculoskeletal disorders and disability pension in general.
Conclusion
Health behaviors in adulthood, including an increase in pain locations, are associated with the incidence of disability pension.
Supporting Evidence
- 11% of individuals in the study were granted disability pensions during the follow-up.
- Stable use of tobacco and increased BMI were predictors for disability pension.
- An increase in the number of pain locations was the strongest predictor for future disability pension.
Takeaway
If you keep doing healthy things like exercising and not smoking, you might not get hurt and have to stop working when you grow up.
Methodology
A prospective twin cohort study using data from two surveys conducted 25 years apart.
Potential Biases
Familial confounding may influence the associations observed.
Limitations
The study relied on self-reported data for BMI and did not account for all potential changes in health behaviors between surveys.
Participant Demographics
Participants were like-sexed twins born in Sweden between 1935-1958, with 52% being women.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Confidence Interval
95% CI 1.03-1.41
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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