Characteristics associated with non‐disclosure of Type 2 diabetes at work

Aim To explore factors associated with non‐disclosure of Type 2 diabetes to employers among Danish workers with Type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 705 workers with Type 2 diabetes completed a Danish cross‐sectional survey. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations between background characteristics and probability of non‐disclosure of diabetes to the employer. The models were mutually adjusted for background characteristics, socioeconomic‐, diabetes‐ and work‐related factors. Results Among the participants, 23% had not disclosed their Type 2 diabetes to their current employer. Non‐disclosure was associated with more sickness absence, more years with diabetes, greater use of diabetic medication, higher educational level and a perception of not being respected by superior. Personal traits such as gender, age and well‐being were not associated with disclosure. Conclusions Among the feasible targets for interventions, good psychosocial work environment was associated with disclosure. What's new? This is the first study to analyse factors associated with disclosure of Type 2 diabetes at the workplace. Compared with previous studies of other chronic illnesses, we found low levels of non‐disclosure at the workplace in this population. Non‐disclosure was associated with high education, high disease severity and a poor psychosocial work environment.