Work outcome in persons with musculoskeletal diseases: comparison with other chronic diseases & the role of musculoskeletal diseases in multimorbidity

Table 5 Odds of sick leave in the past 12 months by morbidity (types and number)

	OR [95% CI]
Index diseases⁺
Musculoskeletal disease	2.29 [1.92; 2.73]
Cardiovascular disease	1.21 [0.99; 1.49]
Diabetes	1.46 [0.97; 2.20]
Respiratory disease	1.37 [1.05; 1.79]
Mental disease	3.24 [2.33; 4.52]
Cancer	2.20 [1.28; 3.76]
Skin disease	1.24 [0.96; 1.61]
Bowel disease	1.54 [1.01; 2.34]
Migraine	1.91 [1.39; 2.63]
Number of morbidities*
1	2.00 [1.75; 2.30]^a
2	2.72 [2.14; 3.44]^a
3	4.22 [2.74; 6.51]
≥ 4	8.19 [2.73; 24.59]
Single morbidity/multimorbidity in- and excluding MSKD*
Musculoskeletal disease	2.50 [2.01; 3.10]^b
Any disease excl. MSKD	1.81 [1.55; 2.12]
Multimorbidity including MSKD	4.04 [3.07; 5.34]^c
Multimorbidity excluding MSKD	2.40 [1.78; 3.24]

Results of multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, level of education, origin, BMI and smoking status (n = 4770)
Abbreviations: MSKD musculoskeletal disorder, OR odds ratio, CI confidence interval
⁺reference category = population without the index disease
*reference category = healthy population
^aSignificantly different from estimate for previous disease count (i.e.1 vs. 0; 2 vs. 1 etcetera)
^bSignificantly different from estimate for single morbidity other than MSKD
^cSignificantly different from estimate for multimorbidity excluding MSKD

ISSN: 1471-2474