Fræðigrein

Læknablaðið 2004; 90: 833-6

Objective: To evaluate the effect of unemployment and the introduction of a new method of disability assessment on the number of recipients of disability pension in Iceland by examining changes in the incidence of disability pension and unemployment year by year from 1992 to 2003.

Material and methods: Information on gender, age and disability grade of new recipients of disability pension in Iceland and corresponding information on the Icelandic population for each year in the period 1992 to 2003 was used to calculate the incidence of disability pension. The results were compared with data on the rate of unemployment in Iceland.

Results: The incidence of disability pension was relatively high from 1992 to 1995, was lower from 1996 to 2002 and then increased markedly in 2003. There is a strong correlation between the incidence of disability pension and the rate of unemployment among both genders in Iceland during the period covered by the study. An increase from 1999 to 2000 in the incidence of disability pension among females coincided in time with the introduction of a new method of disability assessment in September 1999, but also with an increase in the rate of unemployment among females.

Conclusion: It is not warranted to claim that the introduction of a new method of disability evaluation in September 1999 has resulted in a decisive increase in the incidence of disability pension in Iceland. The increase in the number of recipients of disability pension in Iceland recently has a strong statistical correlation with changes in the labour marked, especially with rising unemployment and increased pressure at work.