83 International variation in musculoskeletal sickness absence: Findings from the CUPID study
TLDR
Musculoskeletal sickness absence might be reduced by eliminating excessive time pressures in work, maximising employees’ responsibility and control, and providing flexibility of duties for those with disabling symptoms.Abstract:
Objectives To quantify the variation in rates of absence for musculoskeletal pain across 47 occupational groups (mostly nurses and office workers) from 18 countries, and to explore personal and group-level risk factors that might explain observed differences. Methods A standardised questionnaire was used to obtain information about musculoskeletal pain, sickness absence and possible risk factors from 12,416 workers (92 to 1017 per occupational group). In addition, group-level data on socioeconomic variables such as sick pay and unemployment rates were assembled by members of the study team in each country. Associations of sickness absence with risk factors were examined by Poisson regression. Results Overall, there were more than 30-fold differences between occupational groups in the 12-month prevalence of prolonged musculoskeletal sickness absence, and even among office workers carrying out similar occupational tasks, the variation was more than ten-fold. Individual-level risk factors included older age, lower educational level, tendency to somatise, physical loading at work and prolonged absence for non-musculoskeletal illness. However, these explained little of the variation between occupational groups. After adjustment for individual characteristics, prolonged musculoskeletal absence was more frequent in groups with greater time pressure at work, lower job control, and more adverse beliefs about the work-relatedness of musculoskeletal disorders. Conclusions Musculoskeletal sickness absence might be reduced by eliminating excessive time pressures in work, maximising employees’ responsibility and control, and providing flexibility of duties for those with disabling symptoms. Care should be taken not to overstate work as a cause of musculoskeletal injury.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Descriptive Epidemiology of Somatising Tendency: Findings from the CUPID Study
Sergio Vargas-Prada,David Coggon,Georgia Ntani,Karen Walker-Bone,Keith T Palmer,Vanda Elisa Andres Felli,Raul Harari,Lope H Barrero,Sarah A. Felknor,Sarah A. Felknor,David Gimeno,Anna Cattrell,Matteo Bonzini,Eleni Solidaki,Eda Merisalu,Rima R. Habib,Farideh Sadeghian,Muhammad Masood Kadir,Sudath S P Warnakulasuriya,Ko Matsudaira,Busisiwe Nyantumbu,Busisiwe Nyantumbu,Malcolm R Sim,Helen Harcombe,Ken Cox,Leila Maria Mansano Sarquis,Maria Helena Palucci Marziale,Florencia Harari,Rocio Freire,Natalia Harari,Magda V. Monroy,Leonardo Quintana,Marianela Rojas,E Clare Harris,Consol Serra,J Miguel Martinez,George L. Delclos,Fernando G. Benavides,Michele Carugno,Marco M Ferrario,Angela Cecilia Pesatori,Leda Chatzi,Panos Bitsios,Manolis Kogevinas,Kristel Oha,Tiina Freimann,Ali Sadeghian,Roshini Peiris-John,Roshini Peiris-John,Nalini Sathiakumar,A. Rajitha Wickremasinghe,Noriko Yoshimura,Helen L Kelsall,Victor Chee Wai Hoe,Donna M. Urquhart,Sarah Derrett,David McBride,Peter Herbison,Andrew R. Gray,Eduardo J. Salazar Vega +59 more
TL;DR: This study supports the use of questions from the Brief Symptom Inventory as a method for measuring somatising tendency, and suggests that in adults of working age, it is a fairly stable trait.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ageing, musculoskeletal health and work
Keith T Palmer,Nicola J Goodson +1 more
TL;DR: It is concluded that musculoskeletal problems are common in older workers and have a substantial impact on their work capacity and on which interventions work best.
Journal ArticleDOI
Health beliefs, low mood, and somatizing tendency: contribution to incidence and persistence of musculoskeletal pain with and without reported disability
Sergio Vargas-Prada,José Miguel Martínez,David Coggon,George L. Delclos,Fernando G. Benavides,Consol Serra +5 more
TL;DR: The findings suggest that established psychological risk factors relate principally to the disability that arises from musculoskeletal pain.