title: Do physical or psychosocial factors at work predict multi-site musculoskeletal pain? A 4-year follow-up study in an industrial population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Musculoskeletal pain at multiple sites is common among working-age people and greatly increases work disability risk. Little is known of the work-related physical and psychosocial factors contributing to multi-site pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey responses from 734 employees (518 blue- and 216 white-collar; 65 % female) of a food processing company were collected twice, in 2005 and 2009. Information on musculoskeletal pain during the preceding week, and on environmental, biomechanical and psychosocial work exposures were obtained through a structured questionnaire. The association of multi-site pain with work exposures was estimated with logistic regression by gender and age group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, 54 % of informants reported pain in more than one area, and 50 % at 4-year follow-up. Forty percent of all employees had multi-site pain both at baseline and at follow-up. Among those with multi-site pain at baseline, 69 % had multi-site pain at follow-up. Both repetitive work and awkward work postures at baseline were associated with multi-site pain at follow-up. Psychosocial factors (low job satisfaction, low team spirit, and little opportunity to exert influence at work) also strongly predicted multi-site pain at follow-up, especially among younger workers and men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This prospective study provides new evidence of the high occurrence and persistence of musculoskeletal pain at multiple body sites in an industrial population with a strong association between biomechanical and psychosocial exposures at work and multi-site pain. Prevention of multi-site pain with many-sided modification of work exposures is likely to reduce work disability.
authors: School of Health Sciences, 33014 University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. subas.neupane@uta.fi
authors: Subas
authors: S
authors: Neupane
authors: Helena
authors: H
authors: Miranda
authors: Pekka
authors: P
authors: Virtanen
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Siukola
authors: Clas-Håkan
authors: CH
authors: Nygård
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005525:Food-Processing Industry; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D007857:Leadership; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires