The impact of occupational and personal factors on musculoskeletal pain - A cohort study of female nurses, sonographers and teachers.

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal pain is common in the general population and constitutes a major public health problem. A large proportion of these conditions may be work related. The aim of this study was to explore the relative importance of physical, psychosocial and personal factors, in single- and multisite musculoskeletal pain, among women in common professions with a broad variety of occupational exposures. Methods: A cohort of 1115 women responded to a questionnaire on ergonomic, psychosocial, personal and life-style factors, and the outcome measure of musculoskeletal pain (based on frequency and intensity of complaints at nine anatomical sites), at baseline and at follow-up (mean 28 months later). Sum scores of ergonomic and psychosocial factors were created. The importance of exposure at baseline for multisite pain (number of pain sites) at follow-up were estimated using ordinal regression. The importance of exposure at baseline for single-site pain in the neck, shoulders, hands, lower back and feet at follow-up were estimated using multi-exposure Poisson regression models. Results: High sum scores for ergonomic and psychosocial factors at baseline were found to be of importance for multisite pain at follow-up, although the strongest risk factor was the presence of multisite pain at baseline. A large fluctuation was seen in the number of pain sites between the two time points, on the individual level. Eighteen percent of the study population reported ≥four pain sites at both baseline and follow-up, while only eleven percent did not report any pain at baseline or at follow-up. Among the single-site outcomes, a high sum score of ergonomic factors was a risk factor for pain in the neck, hands and feet. A high sum score of psychosocial factors was a risk factor for neck and shoulder pain. The strongest risk factor was, however, pain at that specific anatomical site at baseline. Only a few of the personal and life-style factors were found to be of importance for subsequent single- and multisite pain.Conclusions: An overwhelming majority of the women in common occupations were affected by musculoskeletal pain. Both ergonomic and psychosocial factors were predictive of single- and multisite pain. These findings indicate the need for preventive measures on the individual, organizational and societal level.

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