Recurrent infections and musculoskeletal disorders--signs of generally increased care demands? A descriptive study of medical records.
In this study we describe and analyse the health status, health-care consumption and the characteristics of persons visiting the primary care centre because of frequent symptoms of respiratory tract infections (RTI) (n = 83) and disorders related to the musculoskeletal system (DMS) (n = 166) as described in medical records for a three-year period. When all the medical diagnoses, health-care consumption, sick leave and other information had been gathered, the findings were that more women (73%) than men fulfilled the inclusion criteria. On average, the group with the highest frequency of symptoms paid 8.3 visits/three years to the physician compared with 1.0 for the controls (p < 0.05). The average total sick-leave attributable to RTI was 29.4 days/3 years and 8.1 days/3 years for the controls. Forty percent of patients in the frequent symptoms group had regular contact with children at work compared with only 18% of the controls. Subjects in the former group were usually manual workers with an increased physical and psychological workload compared with the controls. This group of subjects probably represents a category of vulnerable patients and their total situation should be further investigated.
Ekdahl
C
C
Department of Physical Therapy, Lund University, Sweden.
Söderström
M
M
Farsnäs
A B
AB
D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012008:Recurrence; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013548:Sweden