Mohammad Bayattork1, Sebastian Venge Skovlund2, Emil Sundstrup2, Lars Louis Andersen2,3. 1. Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Faculty of Humanities Science, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran. Mohammadbayat82@gmail.com. 2. National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark. 3. Sport Sciences, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, 9220, Aalborg, Denmark.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Many older workers are working despite having neck-shoulder pain (NSP), which may give rise to work limitations due to pain, especially among those with high physical work demands. This study investigated the joint association of neck-shoulder pain intensity and physical work demands with work limitations among older workers. METHODS: In SeniorWorkingLife, workers ≥ 50 years (n = 11,800) replied to questions about NSP intensity, work limitations due to pain, and physical activity demands at work. The odds ratio for having a higher level of work limitations due to pain in relation to neck-shoulder pain intensity and physical work demands were modeled using logistic regression controlled for various confounders. RESULTS: The results showed that the neck-shoulder pain intensity was associated with work limitations in a dose-response fashion (p < 0.0001). Importantly, a significant interaction existed between neck-shoulder pain intensity and physical activity at work (p < 0.0001), e.g., 77% of workers with high pain and high work demands experienced work limitations due to the pain. CONCLUSION: Higher neck-shoulder pain intensity and higher physical work demands-and particularly in combination-were associated with higher odds of work limitation due to pain among older workers. Thus, it seems especially important to accommodate work demands through a better work environment for these groups of workers.
PURPOSE: Many older workers are working despite having neck-shoulder pain (NSP), which may give rise to work limitations due to pain, especially among those with high physical work demands. This study investigated the joint association of neck-shoulder pain intensity and physical work demands with work limitations among older workers. METHODS: In SeniorWorkingLife, workers ≥ 50 years (n = 11,800) replied to questions about NSP intensity, work limitations due to pain, and physical activity demands at work. The odds ratio for having a higher level of work limitations due to pain in relation to neck-shoulder pain intensity and physical work demands were modeled using logistic regression controlled for various confounders. RESULTS: The results showed that the neck-shoulder pain intensity was associated with work limitations in a dose-response fashion (p < 0.0001). Importantly, a significant interaction existed between neck-shoulder pain intensity and physical activity at work (p < 0.0001), e.g., 77% of workers with high pain and high work demands experienced work limitations due to the pain. CONCLUSION: Higher neck-shoulder pain intensity and higher physical work demands-and particularly in combination-were associated with higher odds of work limitation due to pain among older workers. Thus, it seems especially important to accommodate work demands through a better work environment for these groups of workers.
Entities:
Keywords:
Labor market; Musculoskeletal pain; Neck; Occupational health; Older worker; Shoulder; Work demands; Work limitation
Authors: Karina Glies Vincents Seeberg; Sebastian Venge Skovlund; Rúni Bláfoss; Kristina Thomassen; Lasse Malchow-Møller; Emil Sundstrup; Lars Louis Andersen Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-04-20 Impact factor: 4.614