Sickness absence among shift workers in an industrially developing country.

A retrospective study on the incidence of sickness and absenteeism among shift workers was undertaken in a manufacturing company and a hotel. The health records for the year 1981 of 100 factory shift workers who rotate in an 8-hour shift system and a comparable number of factory day workers were reviewed. Similarly, a group of 50 shift workers and 50 day workers in a hotel were studied. From the medical records we determined the incidence of clinic visits, leave due to illness, the number of days of sick leave taken during the year, and the accident rates for each group. The medical complaints of the subjects during their clinic visits were classified according to organ systems. The results showed that shift workers tended to visit the medical clinic more often than day workers. The sickness-absenteeism rate was also higher among shift workers. There was however no significant difference in the accident rates between the two groups. The results further showed a higher incidence of gastrointestinal complaints among shift workers compared to day workers. Respiratory cases were also higher. The difference in the number of neuropsychiatric complaints was not found to be significant.