title: Does the threshold for reporting musculoskeletal pain or the probability of attributing work-relatedness vary by socioeconomic position or sex?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effect of sex and socioeconomic position (SEP) on individuals' perceptions of pain and its work-relatedness.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared self-reported pain in neck-shoulder or arm with clinical diagnoses and workers' judgments of work-relatedness with physicians' assessments based on specific criteria, between sexes and high- and low-SEP participants in the Oslo Health Study (n = 217).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical diagnoses were more frequent in low-SEP subjects than high-SEP subjects with pain and generally higher in women than in men. Pain attributed to work was more frequently assessed as work-related by the physicians in low-SEP subjects than high-SEP subjects and in men than in women of low SEP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The threshold for reporting pain seemed higher in low-SEP subjects and among women. Physicians were more likely to agree with low-SEP workers about work-relatedness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology, National Institute of Occupational Health, Oslo, Norway. ism@stami.no
authors.forename: Ingrid Sivesind
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Mehlum
authors.forename: Petter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kristensen
authors.forename: Kaj Bo
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Veiersted
authors.forename: Morten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wærsted
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Punnett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000523:psychology*; D011336:Probability; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors