Within-individual changes in physical work demands associated with self-reported health and musculoskeletal symptoms: a cohort study among Dutch workers.
Bart Cillekens, Emma van Eeghen, Karen M Oude Hengel, Pieter Coenen
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate changes in physical work demands in association with self-rated health and musculoskeletal symptoms.
Methods: Data from five waves over the period 2019-2021 of the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey COVID-19 were available for 7191 participants aged 19-64 years who worked (partly) on-site during at least two consecutive waves. Logistic generalized estimated equations (GEE) were used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for changes (increase or decrease compared to no change) in physical work demands between two waves and poor self-rated health and musculoskeletal symptoms in the following wave, adjusted for the health outcome at the first wave, age, educational level, working hours and hours worked from home.
Results: In females, a statistically significant association was found between an increase in physical work demands compared to no change and musculoskeletal symptoms (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.17-1.65). A decrease in physical work demands in females was not statistically significantly associated with musculoskeletal symptoms (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.80-1.08). Similar trends were found for poor self-rated health, although non-statistically significant. For males, comparable but attenuated associations were found.
Conclusion: While our study showed that increasing physical work demands are associated with adverse health (self-reported and musculoskeletal), it did not appear to benefit worker's health to reduce work demands. Future research with multiple measurements in a shorter period and additionally using devices to measure physical work demands will be needed to confirm our study results.
期刊介绍:
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health publishes Editorials, Review Articles, Original Articles, and Letters to the Editor. It welcomes any manuscripts dealing with occupational or ambient environmental problems, with a special interest in research at the interface of occupational health and clinical medicine. The scope ranges from Biological Monitoring to Dermatology, from Fibers and Dust to Human Toxicology, from Nanomaterials and Ultra-fine Dust to Night- and Shift Work, from Psycho-mental Distress and Burnout to Vibrations. A complete list of topics can be found on the right-hand side under For authors and editors.
In addition, all papers should be based on present-day standards and relate to:
-Clinical and epidemiological studies on morbidity and mortality
-Clinical epidemiological studies on the parameters relevant to the estimation of health risks
-Human experimental studies on environmental health effects. Animal experiments are only acceptable if relevant to pathogenic aspects.
-Methods for studying the topics mentioned above.