Nearly all working age people reported at
least one health risk factor, and three quarters reported multiple
health risk factors, according to a report released today by the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The report, Risk factors and
participation in work, looked at the work patterns of people
who reported health risk factors, and compared them with the work
patterns of those who did not report health risk factors.
These risk factors include, smoking, risky
alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and low fruit and
vegetable consumption.
Karen Bishop of the Institute's Population
Health Unit said, 'The report found that the odds of not being in
the labour force were greater for those with health risk factors
than for those without, but only marginally.
'However, men
and women with three or more risk factors had significantly greater
odds of not being in the workforce,' she said.
For men with
three or more risk factors, the odds of being out of the labour
force were twice as high as for men without health risk factors.
For women with three or more risk factors, the odds were almost
twice as high.
Rates of
absenteeism were significantly higher for men and women who
reported at least one health risk factor and at least one chronic
disease.
Rates of
absenteeism for this group were four times as high for men, and
more than twice as high for women, than their counterparts who did
not report any health risk factors or chronic disease.
The health risk
factors assessed in this report are widely known to contribute to
the development of chronic conditions such as heart diseases, lung
diseases and diabetes.
Thursday 25 March 2010
Further information: Ms Karen Bishop, AIHW,
tel. (02) 6244 1085, mob. 0407 915 851.
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. (02) 6244 1032.
Risk factors and participation in work
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