OBJECTIVES: Longitudinal studies have linked stress at work with a higher incidence of musculoskeletal pain. We aimed to explore the extent to which musculoskeletal pain is a cause as opposed to a consequence of perceived occupational stress. METHODS: As part of the international cultural and psychosocial influences on disability study, we collected information from 305 Italian nurses, at baseline and again after 12 months, about pain during the past month in the low-back and neck/shoulder, and about effort-reward imbalance (ERI) (assessed by Siegrist's ERI questionnaire). Poisson regression was used to assess the RR of ERI >1 at follow-up according to the report of pain and of ERI >1 at baseline. RESULTS: Among nurses with ERI ≤1 at baseline, ERI >1 at follow-up was associated with baseline report of pain in the low-back (RR 2.7, 95 % CI 1.4-5.0) and neck/shoulder (RR 2.6, 95 % CI 1.3-5.1). However, there was no corresponding association with persistence of ERI in nurses who already had ERI >1 at baseline. Associations of ERI at baseline with pain at follow-up were weak. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the well-documented association between job stress and musculoskeletal pain is not explained entirely by an effect of stress on reporting of pain. It appears also that workers who report musculoskeletal pain are more likely to develop subsequent perceptions of stress. This may be because pain renders people less tolerant of the psychological demands of work. Another possibility is that reports of pain and stress are both manifestations of a general tendency to be aware of and complain about symptoms and difficulties.
OBJECTIVES: Longitudinal studies have linked stress at work with a higher incidence of musculoskeletal pain. We aimed to explore the extent to which musculoskeletal pain is a cause as opposed to a consequence of perceived occupational stress. METHODS: As part of the international cultural and psychosocial influences on disability study, we collected information from 305 Italian nurses, at baseline and again after 12 months, about pain during the past month in the low-back and neck/shoulder, and about effort-reward imbalance (ERI) (assessed by Siegrist's ERI questionnaire). Poisson regression was used to assess the RR of ERI >1 at follow-up according to the report of pain and of ERI >1 at baseline. RESULTS: Among nurses with ERI ≤1 at baseline, ERI >1 at follow-up was associated with baseline report of pain in the low-back (RR 2.7, 95 % CI 1.4-5.0) and neck/shoulder (RR 2.6, 95 % CI 1.3-5.1). However, there was no corresponding association with persistence of ERI in nurses who already had ERI >1 at baseline. Associations of ERI at baseline with pain at follow-up were weak. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the well-documented association between job stress and musculoskeletal pain is not explained entirely by an effect of stress on reporting of pain. It appears also that workers who report musculoskeletal pain are more likely to develop subsequent perceptions of stress. This may be because pain renders people less tolerant of the psychological demands of work. Another possibility is that reports of pain and stress are both manifestations of a general tendency to be aware of and complain about symptoms and difficulties.
Authors: W E Hoogendoorn; P M Bongers; H C W de Vet; G A M Ariëns; W van Mechelen; L M Bouter Journal: Occup Environ Med Date: 2002-05 Impact factor: 4.402
Authors: Sara I Lindeberg; Maria Rosvall; Bongkyoo Choi; Catarina Canivet; Sven-Olof Isacsson; Robert Karasek; Per-Olof Ostergren Journal: Eur J Public Health Date: 2010-05-26 Impact factor: 3.367
Authors: K T Palmer; K Walker-Bone; M J Griffin; H Syddall; B Pannett; D Coggon; C Cooper Journal: Scand J Work Environ Health Date: 2001-02 Impact factor: 5.024
Authors: Helena Miranda; Eira Viikari-Juntura; Sami Heistaro; Markku Heliövaara; Hilkka Riihimäki Journal: Am J Epidemiol Date: 2005-05-01 Impact factor: 4.897
Authors: Johannes Siegrist; Dagmar Starke; Tarani Chandola; Isabelle Godin; Michael Marmot; Isabelle Niedhammer; Richard Peter Journal: Soc Sci Med Date: 2004-04 Impact factor: 4.634
Authors: Amir Bahrami-Ahmadi; Seyed Alireza Mortazavi; Roghayeh Soleimani; Mohammad Hasan Nassiri-Kashani Journal: Med J Islam Repub Iran Date: 2016-12-28
Authors: Adrian Loerbroks; Hui Ding; Wei Han; Hong Wang; Jiang-Ping Wu; Liu Yang; Peter Angerer; Jian Li Journal: Int Arch Occup Environ Health Date: 2017-02-20 Impact factor: 3.015
Authors: Brena Costa de Oliveira; Valéria Monteiro Beserra da Silva; Letícia Graziela Lopes França Sousa; Iara Sayuri Shimizu Journal: Rev Bras Med Trab Date: 2019-12-01
Authors: Kenneth Jay; Maria Kristine Friborg; Gisela Sjøgaard; Markus Due Jakobsen; Emil Sundstrup; Mikkel Brandt; Lars Louis Andersen Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2015-12-11 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Ronald Herrera; Ursula Berger; Jon Genuneit; Jessica Gerlich; Dennis Nowak; Wolff Schlotz; Christian Vogelberg; Erika von Mutius; Gudrun Weinmayr; Doris Windstetter; Matthias Weigl; Katja Radon Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2017-10-31 Impact factor: 3.390