title: Good work ability despite multisite musculoskeletal pain? A study among occupationally active Finns.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although multisite pain (MSP) often threatens work ability (WA), some of those with MSP retain good WA. Our aim was to identify factors associated with good WA among subjects with MSP.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nationally representative sample (the Health 2000-Study, response rate 87%) comprising 3884 occupationally active Finns aged 30-64 years. Data on WA, musculoskeletal pain, physical and psychosocial working conditions, chronic diseases, lifestyle and domestic situation were gathered by questionnaire, interview and clinical examination. Good current WA compared with the lifetime best was defined as ⩾9 on a 0-10 scale. Musculoskeletal pain in 18 body locations was combined into four sites, and thereafter pain in two or more sites was defined as MSP (N=1351). Poisson regression analysis was used to obtain prevalence rate ratios (PRR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Good WA was reported by 48% of the women and 37% of the men with MSP. In a multivariable model good WA was associated with younger age, female gender, physically non-strenuous work (PRR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.5), low job strain (1.2, 1.0-1.4), high supervisor support (1.2, 1.0-1.4), and not having musculoskeletal diseases (1.3, 1.1-1.5), mental disorders (1.4, 1.1-1.9), daytime tiredness (1.4, 1.2-1.7) or economic troubles (1.5, 1.1-1.9). Age-stratified analyses revealed also associations with high coworker support (1.2, 1.0-1.4) and strenuous leisure-time physical exercise (1.2, 1.0-1.4) in those aged 30-44 and low alcohol consumption (1.8, 1.2-2.6) in the age-group 45-64.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Several potentially modifiable factors related to health, work, and lifestyle were associated with good WA among occupationally active subjects with MSP.
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland tiina.pensola@ttl.fi.
authors.forename: Tiina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pensola
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Eija
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haukka
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaila-Kangas
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Subas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Neupane
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leino-Arjas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation
keywords: chronic diseases; multisite pain; physical load; population-based; psychosocial factors; work ability