[The significance of childhood conditions with regard to disability pensions. A case-controlled study among unskilled workers].

The significance of the conditions in childhood and adolescence for awarding of disability pension is illustrated by means of a case-control design with persons matched according to age, sex and type of work. The group investigated consisted of 581 general male workers who received middle or highest disability pension and 1,550 control persons. No significant differences were found between the case and control group as regards the occupation of the father, unemployment of the father, illness or disability pension in the parents, economical problems during childhood, growing up in the parental home and growing up in rural or urban surroundings. Disability pensioners had more frequently had schooling for less than seven years. These results cannot confirm the conclusions from previous investigations which are associated with bias in the form of socioeconomical differences between the group investigated and the control group. Unskilled work results in confounding as it is associated not only with poor childhood conditions and also with a high incidence of disability pension. Poor childhood conditions are not found more frequently within the group of general workers among the disability pensioners and can thus not be regarded per se as a risk factor for awarding disability pensioning. However, the childhood condition may influence the choise of occupation and then indirectly act as a risk factor for disability pension.