title: Are workers who leave a job exposed to similar physical demands as workers who develop clinically meaningful declines in low-back function?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective is to quantify differences in physical exposures for those who stayed on a job (survivor) versus those who left the job (turnover).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  It has been suggested that high physical job demands lead to greater turnover and that turnover rates may supplement low-back disorder incidence rates in passive surveillance systems.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study with 811 participants was conducted. The physical exposure of distribution center work was quantified using a moment monitor. A total of 68 quantitative physical exposure measures in three categories (load, position, and timing) were examined. Low-back health function was quantified using the lumbar motion monitor at baseline and 6-month follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 365 turnover employees within the 6-month follow-up period and 446 "survivors" who remained on the same job, of which 126 survivors had a clinically meaningful decline in low-back functional performance (cases) and 320 survivors did not have a meaningful decline in low-back functional performance (noncases). Of the job exposure measures, 6% were significantly different between turnover and cases compared to 69% between turnover and noncases. Turnover employees had significantly greater exposure compared to noncases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Turnover employees had similar physical job exposures to workers who remained on the job and had a clinically meaningful decline in low-back functional performance. Thus, ergonomists and HR should be aware that high turnover jobs appear to have similar physical exposure as those jobs that put workers at risk for a decline in low-back functional performance.
authors.forename: Sue A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Marras
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lavender
authors.forename: Riley E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Splittstoesser
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D006804:Ergonomics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009314:National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009790:Occupations; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States