Sickness Absences Due to Diagnosed Voice Disorders and Work Ability in Teachers: Results From the Finnish Register Study

Purpose: Voice problems in teachers have been extensively studied; however, the relationship between voice disorders and work ability has not been thoroughly explored. Existing studies have often used self-reporting and cross-sectional designs. This 16-year longitudinal cohort study aimed to explore the association between sick leave due to diagnosed functional voice disorders and work ability.

Method: Utilizing data from the Finnish Public Sector Cohort (FPS) covering 3,060 schoolteachers from 2000 to 2016, we linked the FPS data to a register containing sickness absences due to voice disorders. Work ability was assessed using the Work Ability Score (WAS).

Results: Sickness absence periods due to voice disorders increased, peaking at 29 periods during 2013-2016. Initially, during 2001-2004, sick leave periods were generally observed at 2.8%, which increased to 10% during 2013-2016. Analysis of the WAS indicated a statistically significant decline from 8.30 (SD = 1.38) to 8.08 (SD = 1.48) during the 16-year follow-up period. The proportion of those reporting good work ability has decreased by 3.9 percentage points over time. The association between sick leave due to voice disorders and work ability remains unclear because of the limited number of cases.

Conclusions: Register data from diagnostic records may not capture the incidence of voice disorders optimally. Despite the commonality of self-reported voice symptoms, the lack of diagnostic specificity makes it challenging to detect these problems in sick leave registers. There is a pressing need for more specific and systematic national follow-up on voice problems, particularly in occupational groups with known voice ergonomic risk factors.