Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41927469›Full record

ArticleOccupational and environmental medicine2026

Use of pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorders and the risk of unemployment: a cohort study of 77 503 workers in Sweden.

Devy L Elling, Melody Almroth, Kristina Berglund, Anders Hammarberg, Lluís Mangot-Sala, Heidi Taipale, Jari Tiihonen, Emelie Thern

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Occupational and environmental medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Devy L EllingInstitute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Melody AlmrothInstitute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-4167-9174
Kristina BerglundDepartment of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Anders HammarbergCentre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Lluís Mangot-SalaInstitute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-3068-1348
Heidi TaipaleDivision of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Jari TiihonenCentre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Emelie ThernInstitute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden emelie.thern@ki.se.ORCID 0000-0002-1319-8218

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAlcohol use disorders (AUDs) can lead to unemployment, yet they remain undertreated. Pharmacotherapies may strengthen labour market attachment but are underused. This study investigates the association between AUD pharmacotherapy use and the risk of becoming unemployed among individuals with an AUD diagnosis in Sweden.

methodsA longitudinal register-based study was conducted, using the Swedish Work, Illness and labour market Participation (SWIP) cohort, restricted to gainfully employed individuals between 16 and 60 years with a first-time AUD diagnosis in Sweden between 2006 and 2019 (n=77 503). The exposure was AUD pharmacotherapy use. The outcome was the first unemployment spell (≥90 consecutive days) that occurred after the first-time AUD diagnosis (2006-2020). Covariates included sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities and unemployment history. The association between pharmacotherapy use and unemployment was examined using Cox regression models.

resultsOf the cohort, 42.8% used AUD pharmacotherapy and 15 098 individuals became unemployed during the observation period (median 7.1 years, IQR 3.3-10.6 years). Relative to those with AUD who did not use any pharmacotherapy, an inverse association between the use of AUD pharmacotherapy and unemployment incidence was observed (adjusted HR (aHR): 0.86; 95% CIs 0.82 to 0.89).

conclusionsAUD pharmacotherapy may decrease the risk of long-term unemployment. The findings further underscore the importance of pharmacotherapy treatment to sustain work ability and promote a healthy workforce.

Indexed as

AlcoholismUnemploymentAdolescentAdultCohort StudiesFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedProportional Hazards ModelsRegistriesRisk FactorsSwedenYoung AdultAlcohol DrinkingOccupational Health

Identifiers

PMID41927469
PMCPMC13151522

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.