CSBJ Daily

Thinking about calling in sick on Monday? Think again.

A study by the University of Cumbria in London shows that people who have long spells of sick leave from work are twice as likely to die from cancer as healthier employees.

Among 6,500 participants in the study, those who had taken a long period of sick leave had a 66 percent higher risk of early death.

However, researchers said that the cancer factor might be due to depressed people not seeing a doctor soon enough.

Sickness records were assessed from workers between 1985 and 1988 and compared with mortality up until 2004.

Overall 288 people died during the study.

The 30 percent of people who had one or more stints of at least seven days off work had a 66 percent increased risk of premature death compared to those who had not had any long periods of sick leave.