[Work ability of subjects with chronic musculoskeletal disorders].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of personal, clinical, and occupational aspects on work ability of workers with and without work-related musculoskeletal disorders using the Work Ability Index.


METHODS
There were participating 127 workers of industrial production lines of a medium-size multinational company. An approved version of the Work Ability Index, a questionnaire developed by Finland's Institute of Occupational Health, was used. Pain scale was also applied. A descriptive analysis was carried out using the Chi-square test and it was also performed a logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
A significant association was identified between the Work Ability Index and all personal, clinical and occupational aspects. Regression analysis showed that pain and sick leave together accounted for 59% of poor work ability.


CONCLUSIONS
Different levels of pain severity were associated with distinct as well as equivalent levels of work ability loss. The results suggest that either pain reports were consistent or being both pain and work ability self-reported they therefore reflect the same perception mechanisms. Future studies might contribute to further understanding the trends found.
Walsh
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IA
Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brasil. ewalsh@terra.com.br
Corral
S
S
Franco
R N
RN
Canetti
E E F
EE
Alem
M E R
ME
Coury
H J C G
HJ
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011379:Prognosis; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation