Associations of Sleep and Health Functioning with Premature Exit from Work: A Cohort Study with a Methodological Emphasis

Erkki Kronholm, Nathaniel S. Marshall, Minna Mänty, Jouni Lahti, Eero Lahelma, Olli Pietiläinen, Ossi Rahkonen and Tea Lallukka
Additional contact information
Erkki Kronholm: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 40, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Nathaniel S. Marshall: Sydney Nursing School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Minna Mänty: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Tukholmankatu 8B, P.O. Box 20, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Jouni Lahti: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Tukholmankatu 8B, P.O. Box 20, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Eero Lahelma: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Tukholmankatu 8B, P.O. Box 20, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Olli Pietiläinen: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Tukholmankatu 8B, P.O. Box 20, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Ossi Rahkonen: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Tukholmankatu 8B, P.O. Box 20, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Tea Lallukka: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 40, 00032 Helsinki, Finland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: Sleep and functioning are associated with a risk of early workforce exit. However, patterns of change in sleep and functioning through time have not been investigated using person-oriented approaches to show what features of sleep and functioning are associated with an early exit. We examined the pattern of interactions between sleep and health functioning characterizing homogenous subgroups of employees and their associations with premature work exit. An additional aim was to provide a tutorial providing detailed description on how to apply these models, compared to traditional variable based risk factors. We analyzed data from 5148 midlife employees of the City of Helsinki, Finland, surveyed over three phases (2000–02, 2007, and 2012). Using repeated measures latent class analyses (RMLCA) we classified people into groups based on their trajectories in sleep and functioning. We identified four longitudinal groups: (1) Stable good sleep and functioning (reference), (2) Persistent sleep problems and good or moderate functioning, (3) Poor functioning with good sleep, and (4) Problematic sleep and health functioning. Compared to group 1, elevated risk was found in all classes with group 4 being the worst. In conclusion, focusing on person-orientated patterns of interactions between sleep and functioning helped produce qualitatively different and quantitatively stronger predictions than using conventional risk factor methodology. Thus, longitudinal person-oriented approaches may be a more powerful method for quantifying the role of sleep and health functioning as risks for premature exit from work.

Keywords: premature retirement; sleep problems; health functioning; insomnia; epidemiology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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