AUTHOR=Utzet Mireia , Ayala-Garcia Amaya , Benavides Fernando G. , Basagaña Xavier 

TITLE=Extreme temperatures and sickness absence in the Mediterranean province of Barcelona: An occupational health issue

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1129027

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1129027

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Objectives
This study aims to assess the association between daily temperature and SA episodes in the Mediterranean province of Barcelona between 2012 and 2015, according to sociodemographic and occupational characteristics.
Methods
Ecological study of a sample of salaried workers affiliated to the Spanish social security, resident in Barcelona province between 2012-2015. The association between daily mean temperature and risk of new SA episodes was estimated with distributed lag non-linear models. The lag effect up to one week was considered. Analyses were repeated separately by sex, age groups, occupational category, economic sector and medical diagnosis groups of SA.
Results
The study included 42,744 salaried workers and 97,166 episodes of SA. The risk of SA increased significantly between 2 and 6 days after the cold day. For hot days there was no association with risk of SA. Women, young, non-manual and workers in the service sector had a higher risk of SA on cold days. The effect of cold on SA was significant for respiratory system diseases (RR: 2.16; 95%CI: 1.68 - 2.79) and infectious diseases (RR: 1.31; 95%CI: 1.04 - 1.66).
Conclusion
Low temperatures increase the risk of having a new episode of SA, especially due to respiratory and infectious diseases. Vulnerable groups were identified. These results suggest the importance of working in indoor and possibly poorly ventilated spaces in the spread of diseases that eventually lead to an episode of SA. It is necessary to develop specific prevention plans for cold situations.