Blindow KJ, Thern E, Hernando-Rodriguez JC, Nyberg A, Magnusson Hanson LL. Gender-based harassment in Swedish workplaces and alcohol-related morbidity and mortality: A prospective cohort study.
Scand J Work Environ Health 2023;
49:395-404. [PMID:
37356106 PMCID:
PMC10782510 DOI:
10.5271/sjweh.4101]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
The study investigated experiences of different types of work-related gender-based harassment (GBH), specifically sexual and gender harassment, as risk factors for alcohol-related morbidity and mortality (ARMM).
METHODS
Information about experiences of (i) sexual harassment (SH-I) and (ii) gender harassment (GH-I) from inside the organization and (iii) sexual harassment from a person external to the organization (SH-E) were obtained from the Swedish Work Environment Survey 1995-2013, a biannual cross-sectional survey, administered to a representative sample of the Swedish working population. The survey responses from 86 033 individuals were connected to multiple registers containing information about alcohol-related diagnoses, treatment, or cause of death. Cox proportional hazard models were fitted to assess hazard ratios (HR) of incident ARMM during a mean follow-up of eight (SH-I and GH-I) and ten (SH-E) years.
RESULTS
A higher prospective risk estimate of ARMM was found among participants who reported experiences of SH-E [HR 2.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.61-2.52], GH-I (HR 1.33, CI 1.03-1.70), or SH-I (HR 2.37, CI 1.42-3.00). Additional analyses, distinguishing one-time from reoccurring harassment experiences, indicated a dose-response relationship for all three harassment types. Gender did not modify the associations. Under the assumption of causality, 9.3% (95% CI 5.4-13.1) of the risk of ARMM among Swedish women and 2.1% (95% CI 0.6-3.6) among Swedish men would be attributable to any of the three types of GBH included in this study.
CONCLUSIONS
Experiences of GBH in the work context may be a highly relevant factor in the etiology of ARMM.
Collapse