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Nicholas Glozier

Publications and source records attributed to Nicholas Glozier.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Employment status and perceived health in the Hordaland Health Study (HUSK).

BACKGROUND: Most western countries have disability benefit schemes ostensibly based upon requiring (1) a work inhibiting functional limitation that (2) can be attributed to a diagnosable condition, injury or disease. The present paper examines to what extent current practice matches the core premises of this model by examining how much poorer the perceived health of disability benefit recipients is, compared to the employed and the unemployed, and further to examine to what extent any poorer perceived health among benefit recipients can be attributed to mental or somatic illness and symptoms. METHODS: Information on disability benefit recipiency was obtained from Norwegian registry data, and merged with health information from the Hordaland Health Study (HUSK) in Western Norway, 1997-99. Participants (N = 14 946) aged 40-47 were assessed for perceived physical and mental health (Short Form-12), somatic symptoms, mental health, and self reported somatic conditions and diseases treated with medication. Differences associated with employment status were tested in chi-square and t-tests, as well as multivariate and univariate regression models to adjust for potential confounders. RESULTS: Recipients of disability benefits (n = 1,351) had poorer perceived physical and mental health than employees (n = 13,156); group differences were 1.86 and 0.74 pooled standard deviations respectively. Self reported somatic diagnoses, mental health and symptoms accounted for very little of this difference in perceived health. The unemployed (n = 439) were comparable to the employed rather than the recipients of disability benefits. CONCLUSION: Recipients of disability benefits have poor perceived health compared to both the employed and the unemployed. Surprisingly little of this difference can be ascribed to respondents' descriptions of their illnesses and symptoms. Even allowing for potential underascertainment of condition severity, this finding supports the increasing focus on non-disease oriented contributing factors. Rehabilitation efforts aiming at return to work should have a strong focus on the patients' perceptions of their health in addition to symptom relief and social factors.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The long-term effect of insomnia on work disability: the HUNT-2 historical cohort study.

Chronic insomnia is common in the general population. Its effect on functioning and disability is usually attributed to an underlying condition, so the diagnosis of insomnia does not qualify for award of a disability pension in the United States or Europe. The aim of this study was to investigate whether insomnia, defined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, contributed to long-term work disability. Using a historical cohort design, the authors gathered baseline data from a population-based Norwegian health study of 37,308 working-age people not claiming a disability pension through 1995-1997. The outcome was subsequent award of a disability pension (18-48 months after the health screening) as registered by the National Insurance Administration. Insomnia was a strong predictor of subsequent permanent work disability (adjusted odds ratio=3.90, 95% confidence interval: 3.20, 4.76). Sociodemographic and shift-work characteristics had little confounding effect (adjusted odds ratio=3.69, 95% confidence interval: 3.00, 4.53), and this association remained significant after adjustment for psychiatric and physical morbidity and for health-related behaviors (adjusted odds ratio=1.75, 95% confidence interval: 1.40, 2.20). This study suggests that insomnia should receive increased attention as a robust predictor of subsequent work disability.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

A population-based cohort study of the effect of common mental disorders on disability pension awards.

OBJECTIVE: Mental illness is consistently underrecognized in general health care, which may lead to underestimation of its effects on awards for social security payments. The authors investigated empirically the contribution of psychiatric morbidity to the award of disability pensions, in particular those awarded for physical diagnoses. METHOD: Using a historical cohort design, the authors utilized a unique link between a large epidemiological cohort study and a comprehensive national database. Baseline information on mental and physical health was gathered from a 1995-1997 population-based health study of those of working age (20-66 years) in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway, who were not recipients of disability pension (N=45,782). The outcome assessed was the awarding of disability pensions ascribed to specific ICD-10 diagnoses within 6 to 30 months as registered in the National Insurance Administration. RESULTS: Anxiety and depression were robust predictors of disability pension awards in general, even when disability pensions awarded for any mental disorder were excluded. These effects were only partly explained by baseline somatic symptoms and diagnoses and were stronger in individuals aged 20-44 than in those aged 45-66. Somatic symptoms accounted for far more disability pension awards than did somatic diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: The cost of common mental disorders in terms of disability pensions and lost productivity may have been considerably underestimated by official statistics, particularly for younger claimants. The results suggest this might be due both to overuse of physical diagnoses and underrecognition of common mental disorders in primary care.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Validity of the HSE stress tool: an investigation within four organizations by the Corporate Health and Performance Group.

AIM: To examine the validity and accuracy of the HSE Management Standards Stress Tool. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to employees of the occupational health and human resource departments of four of the Corporate Health and Performance Group organizations. The relationship between the six first-pass stress filter questions and self-rated health were examined using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) and the Short Form. The relationship between the filter questions and objective work characteristics such as sickness absence, self-rated performance and job satisfaction was also examined. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-five employees participated, giving an overall response rate of 68%. The study sample met the proposed HSE of 85 and 65% pass rates and would not normally progress to further analysis. Almost 40% of the group were above threshold on the GHQ12; 19% rated their work as very or extremely stressful. While the filters were highly specific, they were insensitive and at best detected for less than 40% of those with psychological or work stress. All but one of the filters had less than 50% positive predictive value for work stress and the majority of those identified by the filters did not consider themselves stressed, either overall or by work. Five of the filter questions were significantly associated with self-rated performance, three with absence and two with other objective work indicators. CONCLUSIONS: Further developmental work on these filter questions is indicated. Use of work absence as a measure of the impact or 'cost' of stress may lead to a significant underestimation of the 'true cost' of psychosocial hazards in the workplace.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Physical health, depression and cognitive function as correlates of disability in an older Korean population.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II) measures functioning and disability in concordance with the bio-psycho-social model of the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. Our objectives were to investigate the independent associations of physical health, depression and cognitive function with WHODAS II disability in an older Korean population. METHODS: The WHODAS II was administered to a community sample of 1204 residents age 65 or over. Data on demographic characteristics (age, gender, living area, marital state, and religion), socio-economic state (education, type of accommodation, number of rooms, previous occupation, current employment, monthly income), social support, number of physical illness, depression (GMS), and cognitive function (MMSE) was gathered. A subsample (n = 746) received a clinical examination for dementia. RESULTS: Scores on the WHODAS II were significantly and independently associated with worse physical health, depression, and lower cognitive function. Associations with other factors were no longer apparent after adjustment for these. These associations persisted in the absence of dementia. In participants with dementia (n = 110), WHODAS II scores were principally associated with physical health and accommodation type. CONCLUSIONS: Level of disability, as measured by the WHODAS II, was principally associated with physical health, depression and cognitive function, rather than socio-demographic factors.

Aged↗