INCIDENCE OF LONG-TERM SICK-LISTING IN AN URBAN AREA OF SWEDEN AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH DEMOGRAPHIC-DATA OF THE POPULATION

By checking the card indexes of seven out of twelve Social Insurance O ffices covering 66% of the total wage-earning population in the city o f Goteborg the patients recorded for 90 days of continuous sick-listin g were classified into four diagnostic categories according to the doc tor's certificate: ''non-specific pain'' and ''specific pain'' of the musculoskeletal system, ''other pain'' and ''non-pain'' diagnoses. The overall yearly incidence of 90 days' sick-listing averaged 5.4%. A si gnificant correlation was found between the incidence of 90 days' sick -listing due to ''non-pain'' and musculoskeletal pain diagnoses and th e proportion of demographic characteristics of the areas. The hypothes is of presuming the highest association between non-specific pain diag noses and demographic factors was rejected.