This preprint is under consideration at BMC Public Health. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Cross-border Mobility in European Countries: Associations between Cross-border Worker Status and Health Outcomes
Louis Chauvel
University of Luxembourg
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5865-9404
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background. Mobility of workers living in one country and working in a different country has increased in the European Union. Exposed to commuting factors, cross-border workers (CBWs) constitute a potential high-risk population. But the relationships between health and commuting abroad are under-documented. Our aims were to: (1) measure the prevalence of the perceived health status and the physical health outcomes (activity limitation, chronic diseases, disability and no leisure activities), (2) analyse their associations with commuting status and countries of destination, and (3) confirm the positive association between wage and health index for both CBWs and non-cross border workers (NCBWs).
Methods. Based on the ‘Enquête Emploi’, the French cross-sectional survey segment of the European Labour Force Survey (EU LFS), the population was composed of 2,546,802 workers. Inclusion criteria for the samples were aged between 20 and 60 years and living in the French cross-border departments of Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The Health Index is an additional measure obtained with five health variables. A logistic model was used to estimate the odds ratios of each group of CBWs, taking NCBWs as the reference group, controlling by demographic background and labour status variables.
Results. A sample of 34,362 observations (3,453 CBWs vs. 30,909 NCBWs) was retained. The CBW status is positively associated with a better perceived health, activity limitation, chronic diseases and disability. A marginal improvement of the health index is correlated with a wage premium for both NCBWs and CBWs. Commuters to Switzerland have the higher health outcomes among all CBWs. Commuters to Germany report lower disability and more leisure activities.
Conclusion. CBWs are healthier and have more income. This main finding suggests (1) a healthy cross-border phenomenon steming from a social selection and a positive association between income and the health index is confirmed; (2) the existence of major health disparities among CBWs; and (3) the rejection of the spillover phenomenon assumption for CBWs. The newly founded European Labour Authority (ELA) should take into account health policies as a promising way to support the cross-border mobility within the European Union.
Keywords
Cross-border workers, physical health, self-perceived health, health index
Figure 1
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 21 Sep, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #3 received
Received 02 Jan, 2021
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 26 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 24 Dec, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 22 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 04 Dec, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 23 Oct, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 30 Sep, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 21 Sep, 2020
Editor assigned
On 18 Sep, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 16 Sep, 2020
Editor invited
On 16 Sep, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Learn more about our company.
This preprint is under consideration at BMC Public Health. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Cross-border Mobility in European Countries: Associations between Cross-border Worker Status and Health Outcomes
Louis Chauvel
University of Luxembourg
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5865-9404
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 21 Sep, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #3 received
Received 02 Jan, 2021
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 26 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 24 Dec, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 22 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 04 Dec, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 23 Oct, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 30 Sep, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 21 Sep, 2020
Editor assigned
On 18 Sep, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 16 Sep, 2020
Editor invited
On 16 Sep, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background. Mobility of workers living in one country and working in a different country has increased in the European Union. Exposed to commuting factors, cross-border workers (CBWs) constitute a potential high-risk population. But the relationships between health and commuting abroad are under-documented. Our aims were to: (1) measure the prevalence of the perceived health status and the physical health outcomes (activity limitation, chronic diseases, disability and no leisure activities), (2) analyse their associations with commuting status and countries of destination, and (3) confirm the positive association between wage and health index for both CBWs and non-cross border workers (NCBWs).
Methods. Based on the ‘Enquête Emploi’, the French cross-sectional survey segment of the European Labour Force Survey (EU LFS), the population was composed of 2,546,802 workers. Inclusion criteria for the samples were aged between 20 and 60 years and living in the French cross-border departments of Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The Health Index is an additional measure obtained with five health variables. A logistic model was used to estimate the odds ratios of each group of CBWs, taking NCBWs as the reference group, controlling by demographic background and labour status variables.
Results. A sample of 34,362 observations (3,453 CBWs vs. 30,909 NCBWs) was retained. The CBW status is positively associated with a better perceived health, activity limitation, chronic diseases and disability. A marginal improvement of the health index is correlated with a wage premium for both NCBWs and CBWs. Commuters to Switzerland have the higher health outcomes among all CBWs. Commuters to Germany report lower disability and more leisure activities.
Conclusion. CBWs are healthier and have more income. This main finding suggests (1) a healthy cross-border phenomenon steming from a social selection and a positive association between income and the health index is confirmed; (2) the existence of major health disparities among CBWs; and (3) the rejection of the spillover phenomenon assumption for CBWs. The newly founded European Labour Authority (ELA) should take into account health policies as a promising way to support the cross-border mobility within the European Union.
Figure 1