Table 1 Age, gender and sick leave among responders (n = 2,534) and non-responders (n = 812) to the work environment questionnaire

Age, median (min-max)

49.2 (19–68)

47.2 (18–68)

<0.001

Female, n (%)

2,433 (96)

751 (93)

<0.001

Total sick leave, n (%)

<0.001

   0-14 days

1,909 (75)

549 (68)

   More than 14 days

625 (25)

263 (32)

Spell patterns, n (%)

<0.001

   0-2 short spells

1,378 (54)

380 (47)

   3-9 short spells

490 (19)

162 (20)

   2-13 mixed spells

515 (20)

183 (23)

   1-3 long spells

151 (6)

87 (11)

Total number of spells,

   Median (min-max)

2 (0–13)

2 (0–11)

0.04

Total sick leave, median duration in days (min-max) *

   0-14 days

3 (0–14)

3 (0–14)

0.5

   More than 14 days

35 (15–581)

45 (15–613)

<0.001

Spell patterns, median duration in days (min-max) *

  0-2 short spells

2 (0–13)

2 (0–12)

0.97

  3-9 short spells

9 (3-28)

9 (3-31)

0.82

  2-13 mixed spells

29 (9–421)

35 (10–321)

0.02

  1-3 long spells

66 (8–581)

162 (8–613)

0.002