Differences in how women and men in a Swedish population-based sample think about sick leave: A cross-sectional vignette study.

The study used a self-recruited online panel rather than a random population sample, and participation was higher among older people and people with university education. The sample overrepresented older and highly educated people, which may have underestimated the difference between men and women. The study measured stated opinions about a written case, not actual sick-leave decisions or workplace behaviour. The vignette was short and described mild to moderate depression symptoms with broad work tasks, so some respondents may not have linked the case to depression or may have judged other kinds of sick leave. The findings describe averages between men and women, so differences within each gender group were not shown. The main outcome was grouped into reasonable versus not reasonable, although sensitivity analyses with the original four response categories gave consistent results.

Do not read the men-versus-women difference as proof that men with depression avoid sick leave or that therapists should discourage sick leave for male patients. The study measured what a self-recruited Swedish population sample said about a written case, not what patients did or what clinicians should do.