Alcohol consumption and sick leave: a meta-analysis

Several factors are involved in the risk of sick leave and it seems that alcohol consumption is a factor in this regard. We seek a meta-analysis of sick leave with regards to alcohol consumption. Until November 2018 scientific databases were searched using keywords, after screening for studies, 21 studies were eligible for including in the meta-analysis. The main result and the results of the subgroups were analyzed based on the random effects method. The pooled risk ratio (RR) was calculated for the results and confidence intervals (CI) were also shown. Result showed that alcohol consumption is a risk factor for sick leave with RR = 1.07 and (CI) = 1.01–1.13 (p = 0.012). In men, the results are equal to RR = 1.11 and CI = 1.01–1.22 (p = 0.030) and in women, the results are equal to RR = 1.10 and CI = 1.03–1.18 (p = 0.006). The results showed a very low bias. Based on the evidence, it can be concluded that alcohol consumption increases the risk of sick leave in working population. Hence, measuring health and conducting prevention and treatment programs can be beneficial in reducing the burden of alcohol. © 2020,