Self-reported health problems in a health risk appraisal predict permanent work disability: a prospective cohort study of 22,023 employees from different sectors in Finland with up to 6-year follow-up

Purpose Work disability (WD) as a medico-legal concept refers to disability benefits (DB) that are granted due to diseases that permanently reduce work ability. We studied whether an occupational healthcare instrument for the prediction of sickness absence (SA) risk—a health risk appraisal (HRA)—also predicts permanent WD.