Affiliations: National Institute for Working Life, Sweden | Section for Personal Injury Prevention, Department of
Clinical Neuroscience, The Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Ylva Fjell, National Institute for
Working Life, SE-831 40 Östersund, Sweden. Tel.: +46 63 55 13 06; E-mail:
ylva.fjell@niwl.se
Abstract: Musculoskeletal disorders constitute a considerable public health
problem, often resulting in sickness absence, particularly in public sector
employees. Increased knowledge on how this is related to individual and
work-related factors is required. The objective of this study was to
investigate the associations between self-reported musculoskeletal pain and the
following factors: physical and psychosocial work conditions, lifestyle,
psychosomatic symptoms and sick leave. A comprehensive questionnaire was
completed by a total of 2523 people, of which 87% were women and 13% men.
The participants were employed in public hospitals, educational institutions,
home care services for the elderly and domestic/catering services in a Swedish
county. The response rate was 92%. Multiple logistic regression analyses
showed that the high level of self-reported musculoskeletal pain was highly
associated with strenuous physical and psychosocial work conditions. The
physical factor with the highest odds ratio (OR) was working in a forward-bent
position. High work demands was the most prominent psychosocial factor and
distinctly associated with musculoskeletal pain among men. Physical work strain
and other demanding working conditions, which were associated with
musculoskeletal pain, were frequent among employees in home care services for
the elderly and domestic/catering services. There was a strong association
between long-term sick leave and high musculoskeletal pain. Furthermore, there
was a strong association between a high level of musculoskeletal pain and the
exhibition of psychosomatic symptoms in both women and men; this is an
interaction that may intensify the total experience of illness and thus needs
to be further investigated.
