Back Pain and Musculoskeletal Disorders Cost Society DKK 58 Billion a Year
Pain in the back, neck, shoulders, and joints is not only a daily burden for many Danes – it also has major consequences for the economy. This is shown in a new analysis from the National Institute of Public Health, which estimates the total economic losses associated with musculoskeletal pain.
Musculoskeletal pain is among the most widespread health problems in Denmark. According to the analysis, 1.4 million Danes have been severely bothered by pain or discomfort in muscles and joints within the past 14 days. This is especially true for women: 829,516 women compared to 564,658 men are estimated to have experienced pain within the past 14 days.
The pain can make it difficult to maintain employment and increases the risk of both sick leave and early withdrawal from the labour market. In total, this resulted in 2022 in an additional production loss of DKK 58 billion compared to people without musculoskeletal pain.
The analysis is based on data from the Danish National Health Profile 2021.
Leaving the Labour Market
The largest economic losses are seen among men aged 50–65 and women aged 30–49. A significant part of the cost is due to many people with musculoskeletal pain receiving disability pension, senior pension, or leaving the labour market earlier than planned — often after prolonged illness.
According to researcher Isabelle Pascale Mairey, who conducted the analysis, this is precisely where the greatest socioeconomic consequences arise:
“The vast majority of the production loss is due to more people with pain being granted disability pension, senior pension, or retiring early. Overall, women account for a slightly larger loss because more women receive these benefits. But when looking at the loss per person, it is slightly higher for men, partly because men on average have higher salaries,” she explains.
The analysis was prepared for the Danish Rheumatism Association.
The figure below shows the additional production loss in 2022 in total and broken down by long-term sick leave and disability pension, senior pension, or early retirement for both men and women with musculoskeletal pain in 2021.
Additional production loss costs are calculated among people with musculoskeletal pain compared to people without musculoskeletal pain who have the same gender, age, education, and health conditions excluding rheumatic diseases.
Contact: Researcher Isabelle Pascale Mairey, tel.: +45 6550 7709, e-mail: ipa@sdu.dk, National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark.