Sickness absence days
The median number of sick leave days was lowest for the MI group with 73 [interquartile range (IQR) 31–147] days. For the other two groups the median was 76 (IQR 35–134) days for the usual case management and 75 (IQR 34–155) days for the active control group. The difference between the groups was not statistically significant (Kruskal Wallis P=0.773). Figure 2 shows the cumulative median number of sickness absence days during 12 months of follow-up.Cumulative number of workdays (median) on medical benefits for the motivational interviewing, usual case management and active control group during 12 months of follow-up, based on intention to treat analyses. Number of days are adjusted for employment fraction and transformed to whole workdays according to a 5-day workweek