• Karin A A De Ridder, Kristine Pape, Roar Johnsen, Steinar Westin, Turid Lingaas Holmen, and Johan Håkon Bjørngaard.
• Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. karin.de.ridder@ntnu.no
• J Epidemiol Community Health. 2012 Nov 1; 66 (11): 995-1000.

BackgroundSchool and work participation in adolescence and young adulthood are important for future health and socioeconomic status. The authors studied the association between self-rated health in adolescents, high school dropout and long-term receipt of medical and non-medical social insurance benefits in young adulthood.MethodsSelf-rated health in adolescence was assessed in 8795 adolescents participating in the Norwegian Young-HUNT Study (1995-1997). Linkages to the National Education Database and the National Insurance Administration allowed identification of school dropout and receipt of long-term medical and non-medical benefits during a 10-year follow-up (1998-2007). The data were explored by descriptive statistics and by multinomial logistic regression.ResultsA total of 17% was registered as being high school dropouts at age 24. The predicted 5-year risk of receiving benefits between ages 24-28 was 21% (95% CI 20% to 23%). High school dropouts had a 5-year risk of receiving benefits of 44% (95% CI 41 to 48) compared with 16% (95% CI 15 to 17) in those who completed high school (adjusted for self-rated health, parental education and sex). There was a 27% school dropout rate in adolescents who reported poor health compared with 16% in those who reported good health. The predicted 5-year risk of receiving any long-term social insurance benefits in adolescents who reported poor health was 33% (95% CI 30 to 37) compared with 20% (95% CI 19 to 21) in those who reported good health.ConclusionThe strong association between poor self-rated health in adolescence, high school dropout and reduced work integration needs attention and suggests preventive measures on an individual as well as on a societal level.

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