Moderate Alcohol Drinkers Have Better Work Attendance, Compared To Teetotalers, Survey Finds
By Medical Daily Staff
June 7, 2018
It is not too surprising that heavy drinkers may take more days off from work compared to those who consume alcohol under safe limits. But non-drinkers might also be more likely to miss work than moderate drinkers, a European study revealed.
The paper titled “Sickness absence diagnoses among abstainers, low‐risk drinkers and at‐risk drinkers: consideration of the U‐shaped association between alcohol use and sickness absence in four cohort studies” was published in the journal Addiction on June 5.
Researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health conducted a survey of 47,520 adults from Finland, the United Kingdom, and France. The participants were asked about their alcohol consumption patterns and were linked to records of sickness absence. The national and employer registry reports were accessed for information regarding absences.
The results revealed teetotalers were just as likely as heavy drinkers to take days off from work. Moderate drinkers, it appeared, were less likely to miss work compared to both the aforementioned groups.
“Drinking in moderation seems not to be associated with sickness absence,” said lead author Dr. Jenni Ervasti, a specialized researcher at the institute. Moderate drinking was defined as drinking below a risk threshold of 11 units per week for women and 34 units per week for men. One drink unit was estimated as 12 grams of alcohol.
Teetotalers were likely to take more work days off due to numerous reasons which included mental disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, diseases of the digestive system, and diseases of the respiratory system.
Heavy drinkers, on the other hand, were at an increased risk of injury or poisoning which may have contributed towards work absence. Ervasti added that “when observing multiple absences due to external causes,” employers should make an effort to intervene and help an employee who may be showing signs of alcohol dependence.
In the case of non-drinkers, however, the study did not imply that abstaining from alcohol causes health problems.
Rather, people may already have certain health conditions that cause them to miss more work days and also require them to refrain from drinking. For instance, some patients may have to drastically reduce or completely eliminate alcohol intake if it triggers migraines or worsens symptoms of a pre-existing mental illness.
“Some diseases, or their treatment, prevent alcohol use, which may explain the excess risks among abstainers,” she said. The findings also seemed to note more non-drinker participants came from a poorer background, a factor linked to more sickness.
“Moreover, participants to whom at-risk drinking causes health problems may be selected out from the labor market, that is, if they retire early or become unemployed. Then, the adverse effects are not seen in absence from work due to illness.”
The study was also limited as it only studied the population from Europe, a place where drinking habits and other lifestyle factors differ from other parts of the world. The data on drinking was also self-reported, which can increase the risk of inaccuracies.