title: Risk factors of sciatic pain: a prospective study among middle-aged employees.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the effects of occupational class, physical and psychosocial working conditions, health behaviours, and pain in the low back and the neck on sciatic pain among middle-aged employees.
  
  
  METHODS
  The participants were municipal employees without previous sciatica, aged 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 years at baseline (n=5261, 80% women). Sciatica was defined as low back pain radiating to the calf or the foot. Data on occupational class, physical and psychosocial working conditions, body mass index, smoking, leisure-time physical activity, neck pain, local low back pain, and sciatica were obtained from baseline questionnaire surveys in 2000-2002. The question on sciatica was repeated in a follow-up survey in 2007. Logistic regression analysis was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In women, manual occupational class (OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.0-1.6 compared with managers/professionals), overweight (1.3; 1.1-1.5), obesity (1.4; 1.1-1.7), smoking (1.5; 1.2-1.7), low leisure-time physical activity (1.3; 1.0-1.7), previous acute (1.5; 1.3-1.7) and chronic (1.5; 1.1-2.0) local low back pain, and acute (1.20; 1.0-1.4) and chronic (1.5;1.2-1.9) neck pain predicted the onset of sciatica in a multivariable model. In men, semi-professionals (1.5; 1.1-2.1) and manual workers (2.0; 1.4-2.8) had an increased risk compared with managers/professionals; also acute (1.5; 1.2-2.0) and chronic (2.1; 1.2-3.9) local low back pain predicted sciatica.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Manual occupational class in both genders and semi-professional occupations in men, unhealthy behaviours and previous pain both in the neck and the lower back predicted sciatica, while physical and psychosocial working conditions had no independent effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. sanna-mari.kaaria@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Sanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kääriä
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leino-Arjas
authors.forename: Ossi
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rahkonen
authors.forename: Jouni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lahti
authors.forename: Eero
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lahelma
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laaksonen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000150:complications*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012585:Sciatica / Q000209:etiology*; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires