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American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 122, No. 2: 302-310
Copyright © 1985 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

research-article

SEX, RACE, AGE, AND HYPERTENSION AS DETERMINANTS OF EMPLOYEE ABSENTEEISM

MARY SEXTON1 and BARBARA C. SCHUMANN1

1Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Univereity of Maryland 665 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201

Reprint request to Dr. Mary Sexton

This study examined the effects of hypertension on two measures of employee absenteeism with the three confounding variables of sex, race, and age held constant Subjects were 820 Maryland State employees who participated in a worksite blood pressure screening program. Comparison of official records for the year before (1978) and after screening (1979) revealed a small increase in the frequency of sick calls, a decrease in average duration of sick calls, and no net effect on total number of sick hours. Over the two-year period the average duration of absences was higher for hypertensives when sex, race, and age were held constant; however, the effect was confined to females. The findings indicate that hypertension and absenteeism should be investigated in the context of employees' demographic characteristics since these are related to hypertension and also are important determinants of absenteeism. When multiple regression was used, it became clear that demographic characteristics explained more of the variation in work absences than did blood pressure status. The relationship between hypertension and absenteeism was small, accounting for less than 2% of the variance. Thus employers can be reassured regarding the issue of whether newly detected hypertensives stay away from work. Given the weakness of the relationship found between hypertensive status and absences and the very small proportion of hypertensives who are newly detected, their effect on work absences is inconsequential.

absenteeism; age factors; blacks; employment; hypertension; sex factors; whites


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