Labour market potential of a heart-healthy working life
Labour market potential of a heart-healthy working life
Original title: Arbejdsmarkedspotentialet ved et hjertesundt arbejdsliv
Background
Around 675,000 people in Denmark currently live with cardiovascular disease, and approximately 66,200 people develop cardiovascular disease each year. At the same time, more than 50 per cent of all cases can be prevented, including through smoking cessation, physical activity, good mental health, moderate alcohol consumption, and a healthy diet.
Heart health and working life
A large part of our daily lives is spent at work, meaning that working life has a major influence on our ability to live a heart-healthy life. Given the central role that work plays in our lives, this report focuses on a heart-healthy working life. In this report, a heart-healthy working life is defined as one in which the prevalence of some of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease and a wide range of other diseases is reduced, both at work and outside working hours. These include the so-called KRAM factors (unhealthy diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity), as well as obesity and stress.
main conclusions of our study
Risk factors are associated with losses in productivity and labour supply
We estimate that the risk factors are associated with a productivity loss of DKK 44.3 billion and a labour supply loss of 35,588 full-time equivalents in 2025.
Labour market impacts associated with risk factors are expected to increase towards 2040
We estimate that the total annual productivity loss associated with the risk factors will increase to DKK 51.4 billion in 2040, an increase of DKK 7.1 billion, corresponding to 16 per cent. We also estimate that the labour supply loss associated with the risk factors will increase to 43,104 full-time equivalents in 2040. This represents an increase in the annual labour supply loss of 7,516 full-time equivalents, corresponding to 21 per cent.
A heart-healthy working life for more people in Denmark could generate substantial labour market gains towards 2040
Reducing the prevalence of the risk factors towards 2040 could potentially generate economic savings worth billions of Danish kroner and increase labour supply. For example, if the prevalence of the six risk factors in 2040 were reduced by 50 per cent relative to the expected 2040 scenario, we estimate that this would be associated with a productivity gain of DKK 23.2 billion, reducing the productivity loss to DKK 28.2 billion rather than DKK 51.4 billion. Similarly, this would be associated with a labour supply gain of 20,325 full-time equivalents, reducing the labour supply loss from 43,104 to 22,799 full-time equivalents.
This study was commissioned by Hjerteforeningen (The Danish Heart Association).
Please find the full study in Danish below.
contact us
Click below to read more about our Healthcare & Life Sciences service.
Related work
GSK
Novartis Healthcare A/S
Takeda
The impact of plasma-derived therapies in Europe – 2026 edition