Predictors of sickness absence related to musculoskeletal pain: a two-year follow-up study of workers in municipal kitchens

Abstract

Predictors of sickness absence related to musculoskeletal pain: a two-year follow-up study of workers in municipal kitchens by Haukka E, Kaila-Kangas L, Luukkonen R, Takala E-P, Viikari-Juntura E, Leino-Arjas P We identified three distinct trajectories of sickness absence (SA) due to musculoskeletal pain among female kitchen workers during two years. Depressive symptoms, musculoskeletal diseases, and multisite pain predicted belonging to a trajectory of high and increasing SA, while multisite pain, smoking, and overweight or obesity predicted belonging to a trajectory of intermediate occurrence of SA. Original article Scand J Work Environ Health. 2014;40(3):278-286. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3415 Predictors of sickness absence related to musculoskeletal pain: a two-year follow-up study of workers in municipal kitchens Haukka E, Kaila-Kangas L, Luukkonen R, Takala E-P, Viikari-Juntura E, Leino-Arjas P. Predictors of sickness absence related to musculoskeletal pain: a two-year follow-up study of workers in municipal kitchens. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2014;40(3):278-286. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3415 AffiliationObjective We studied predictors of sickness absences (SA) due to musculoskeletal pain over two years among 386 municipal female kitchen workers.Methods Pain and SA periods (no/yes) due to pain in seven sites during the past three months were assessed at 3-month intervals over two years by questionnaire. Age, musculoskeletal pain, multisite pain (pain in ≥3 sites), musculoskeletal and other somatic diseases, depressive symptoms, physical and psychosocial workload, body mass index, smoking, and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) at baseline were considered as predictors. Trajectory analysis and multinomial logistic regression were used.Results Three trajectories of SA emerged, labelled as "none" (41% of the subjects), "intermediate" (48%), and "high" (11%). With the "none" trajectory (no SA) as reference, pain in all musculoskeletal sites excepting the low back predicted belonging to the "intermediate" [odds ratio (OR) 1.82-2.48] or "high" (OR 2.56-3.74) trajectory adjusted for age; multisite pain predicted membership of the "intermediate" [OR 2.15, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.38-3.34] or "high" (OR 4.66, 95% CI 2.10-10.3) trajectories. In a mutually adjusted final model, smoking (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.22-3.69), multisite pain (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.15-3.02), and overweight/obesity (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.08-2.72) predicted belonging to the "intermediate" trajectory, while depressive symptoms (OR 3.57, 95% CI 1.57-8.10), musculoskeletal diseases (OR 3.18, 95% CI 1.37-7.37), and multisite pain (OR 2.72, 95% CI 1.15-6.40) were associated with the "high" trajectory. ConclusionAlong with the number of pain sites and musculoskeletal diseases, attention to depressive symptoms, smoking, and overweight/obesity is needed to tackle SA related to musculoskeletal pain.

Leisure-time physical activity and absenteeism

“…In the remaining three studies only age range was indicated -18-69 years (26), <25->64 years (27), and 50-59 years (30). In 11 studies, both male and female participants were included, in three studies all participants were women (17)(18)(19), and in one study all participants were men (24). In 12 studies, the level of leisure-time PA was determined only via a questionnaire (16-20, 22-23, 25-29), one study used both questionnaire and telephone interview methods (21), and in one study the level of leisure-time activity was determined only by interview (30).…”

“…The characteristics of the studies included in the analysis are described in Table 1 (research aim and design, participants, measured variables (leisure-time PA and absenteeism due to sickness), results) (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30).…”

“…In three studies, only healthy participants were included, i.e., participants with chronic or more severe medical conditions were excluded from analysis (18,28,29). The participants were asked about their diseases or long-term health conditions in four studies (17,21,22,27), so the self-reported morbidity was accounted for. In further five studies the participants provided estimation of their general health, either by SF-36 questionnaire (16,20), or a general question on their health, with several answer categories (23,25,26).…”

“…Four out of 15 studies included in this review were from Denmark (18,19,21,26), three studies were from Finland (17,20,24), two studies were from the Netherlands (23,25), and the remaining six studies were from Belgium (16), Brasil (22), Norway (27), Singapore (28), the United States (29), and Sweden (30). Nine studies were prospective (17-21, 25-27, 29), five were retrospective (16,23,24,28,30), and one was cross-sectional (22).…”

“…Regarding the participants occupations and the level of occupational physical activity across studies, the participants were: secondary school teachers, out of which 22 % physical education teachers (16); female kitchen workers (17); health care workers in eldercare sector (18,19), nurses" aides (27); banking corporation employees (23); military personnel with both physical and office work (24); law enforcement officers (29); employed in different job groups according to occupational physical workload, ranging from two groups (workers and salaried employees (30), three [blue-collar jobs, white-collar jobs, and caring professions) (25), assembly-line workers, office workers, executives (22)], four (managers and professionals, semi-professionals, routine non-manual, and manual workers) (20) to five or six job groups (21,26,28). All studies that included participants from different job groups reported taking into account occupational workload as a confounder.…”