Bridging success in the labour market: does continuity of general practitioners' care matter for individuals with common mental disorders?

Mental illnesses impose substantial burdens on individuals, families, and society, encompassing both severe personal consequences and high societal costs. This study examines whether improved continuity of care with regular general practitioners (RGP-CoC) is associated with better labour market outcomes for individuals diagnosed with common mental disorders (CMDs). Using administrative registry data for 139,873 individuals with CMDs (N = 371,825 observations) from 2014/15 to 2017/18, we construct RGP-CoC indices within rolling two-year windows and track labour market outcomes over subsequent one-year periods. We employ a lagged design and high-dimensional fixed-effects models to robustly assess the association between RGP-CoC and labour market outcomes over the period 2016-2019. Our findings show that higher RGP-CoC is associated with improved labour market outcomes, with stronger and more robust effects observed for wage income than for employment probability. We also find a significant negative association between RGP-CoC and the likelihood of sickness absence. While the effects vary across education levels, no significant gender differences are observed. These findings highlight the vital role of RGP continuity of care in improving labour market participation and earnings, especially for individuals with CMDs. Enhancing continuity with a regular GP as a core quality metric in primary care can inform healthcare policy and support broader goals of economic inclusion.