Health workers are most likely to be out of work due to work-related illness and injury, according to new research conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Health and Safety Authority.

Launched last month, the report - which can be accessed here - examined work-related illnesses and injuries across a range of high-risk sectors including health, construction, transport, manufacturing and agriculture, forestry and fishing.

It tracked experiences from 2001 to 2014, and found that these sectors accounted for 41% of overall employment and 56% of all work-related injury.

Health sector workers were most likely to be absent from work due to work-related illness, with an absence rate of 92,000 between 2001 and 2014. Similarly, health ranked highest when the issue of work-related injury was explored.

Manual handling was a serious cause for concern with musculoskeletal issues accounting for 46% of work-related illnesses. Stress, anxiety and depression were also more prevalent among health sector workers, with 22% of workplace illnesses attributed to this, compared to 16% across all other sectors combined.

Shift workers, especially those who work nights, were at a higher risk of injury, while new recruits were more at risk than their more experienced colleagues. In addition, a longer working week was also noted as a contributing factor, with employees working more than 40 hours a week seeing a significant increase in the risk of a work-related illness or injury.