Work-Related Inequalities in Health

This book investigates work-related inequalities in health in Sweden from a sociological perspective. The focus is on income, aspects of the work environment, and sense of coherence. The aim is to study how these factors, individually or jointly, generate inequalities in cardiovascular disease, stroke, psychological distress and musculoskeletal pain. The studies are based on Swedish national survey data and registers during the period 1990- 2003. In general, the findings show that both income and work environment are important in generating health inequalities in the working population. Work environment contributes to the association between income and cardiovascular disease. The risk of stroke is higher for women and men in occupations with low job control than for those with high job control. A strong sense of coherence moderates the effect of physical work demands on musculoskeletal pain in both women and men. Thus the book, with its wide variety of component studies, provides a broad view of work-related inequalities in health.