Increase in mental illness

DAK Health Report 2011 presented - Increase in mental illness

11.05.2011

The German Employees Health Insurance Fund (DAK) has published its Health Report 2011, in which the sick leave of DAK insured persons from the year 2010 is recorded and broken down according to various criteria. The DAK Health Report 2011 allows both a classification by federal states and the division by age, economic group or clinical picture.

Overall, the sickness rate of the working DAK insured in 2010 amounted to 3.4 percent, which corresponded to about the previous year, reported the experts of the DAK at the presentation of the Health Report 2011. By the separate consideration of young workers between the ages of 18 and 29 In addition, the health report should also examine in more detail the potential impact of unsafe working conditions on the health and sickness of employees. Because the young workers are according to the DAK report, although shorter on average, but much more frequently sick leave.

Young workers are the focus of the Health Report 2011
According to its own statements, the DAK has put the young workers in the center of attention in the 2011 Health Report in order to analyze the health effects of uncertain economic life perspectives and hard-to-plan professional careers in more detail. The experts of the DAK found that nationwide just over one in five young workers feels that their daily work is very stressful, even though the majority of them feel that they are not being challenged by their job. According to DAK, the perceived burden is also reflected in the frequent sick leave, whereby the short sick leave period can be taken as an indication that there are rarely serious illnesses among the young employees. The older employees, however, with fewer sick leave in total per certificate each sick significantly longer written than their young colleagues, which was also classified as a sign of more serious diseases.

Musculoskeletal disorders most common cause of disability
In the breakdown of the sick leave for the causes form musculoskeletal disorders (especially back pain) in the health report 2011 with 22 percent of all sick leave the most common reason for sick leave. In second place are respiratory diseases with a share of 16 percent in the sick leave and followed by sick leave due to acute injuries (14.3 percent). Particularly worrying, according to the statements of the DAK experts, however, the development of mental illness. Their share of sick leave increased by around ten percent in the past year and in the 2011 health report averages 12.1 percent. Both the older employees and the younger employees are equally affected, report the experts of the DAK.

Regional differences in sick leave
The DAK Health Report also notes significant regional differences in sick leave. While the West German federal states average an illness rate of 3.3 percent, this average is 4.3 percent in the new federal states, according to the DAK experts. Leader in the sick leave were according to the health report last year Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, each had a sick leave of 4.4 percent recorded. The DAK Health Report 2011 was based on data collected by the 2.6 million DAK members in 2010, with 60 percent of the insured and 40 percent male. (Fp)

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