Production losses from morbidity and mortality by disease, age and sex in Norway

Abstract

Aim: The inclusion of production losses in health care priority setting is extensively debated. However, few studies allow for a comparison of these losses across relevant clinical and demographic categories. Our objective was to provide comprehensive estimates of Norwegian production losses from morbidity and mortality by age, sex and disease category. Methods: National registries, tax records, labour force surveys, household and population statistics and data from the Global Burden of Disease were combined to estimate production losses for 12 disease categories, 38 age and sex groups and four causes of production loss. The production losses were estimated via lost wages in accordance with a human capital approach for 2019. Results: The main causes of production losses in 2019 were mental and substance use disorders, totalling NOK121.6bn (32.7% of total production losses). This was followed by musculoskeletal disorders, neurological disorders, injuries, and neoplasms, which accounted for 25.2%, 7.4%, 7.4% and 6.5% of total production losses, respectively. Production losses due to sick leave, disability insurance and work assessment allowance were higher for females than for males, whereas production losses due to premature mortality were higher for males. The latter was related to neoplasms, cardiovascular disease and injuries. Across age categories, non-fatal conditions with a high prevalence among working populations caused the largest production losses. Conclusions: The inclusion of production losses in health care priority debates in Norway could result in an emphasis on chronic diseases that occur among younger populations at the expense of fatal diseases among older age groups.