Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012;7(7):e41287.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041287. Epub 2012 Jul 20.

Threshold of musculoskeletal pain intensity for increased risk of long-term sickness absence among female healthcare workers in eldercare

Lars L Andersen  1 , Thomas Clausen, Hermann Burr, Andreas Holtermann
Affiliations

Threshold of musculoskeletal pain intensity for increased risk of long-term sickness absence among female healthcare workers in eldercare

Lars L Andersen et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Abstract

Purpose: Musculoskeletal disorders increase the risk for absenteeism and work disability. However, the threshold when musculoskeletal pain intensity significantly increases the risk of sickness absence among different occupations is unknown. This study estimates the risk for long-term sickness absence (LTSA) from different pain intensities in the low back, neck/shoulder and knees among female healthcare workers in eldercare.

Methods: Prospective cohort study among 8,732 Danish female healthcare workers responding to a questionnaire in 2004-2005, and subsequently followed for one year in a national register of social transfer payments (DREAM). Using Cox regression hazard ratio (HR) analysis we modeled risk estimates of pain intensities on a scale from 0-9 (reference 0, where 0 is no pain and 9 is worst imaginable pain) in the low back, neck/shoulders and knees during the last three months for onset of LTSA (receiving sickness absence compensation for at least eight consecutive weeks) during one-year follow-up.

Results: During follow-up, the 12-month prevalence of LTSA was 6.3%. With adjustment for age, BMI, smoking and leisure physical activity, the thresholds of pain intensities significantly increasing risk of LTSA for the low back (HR 1.44 [95%CI 1.07-1.93]), neck/shoulders (HR 1.47 [95%CI 1.10-1.96]) and knees (HR 1.43 [95%CI 1.06-1.93]) were 5, 4 and 3 (scale 0-9), respectively, referencing pain intensity of 0.

Conclusion: The threshold of pain intensity significantly increasing the risk for LTSA among female healthcare workers varies across body regions, with knee pain having the lowest threshold. This knowledge may be used in the prevention of LTSA among health care workers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Visual representation of the hazards (Kaplan-Meier curves) at 0–52 weeks from baseline for low back pain, neck/shoulder pain and knee pain, respectively.
The Y-axis represents the proportion of female healthcare workers not having LTSA. Pain intensity is stratified into low (0–2), medium (3–5) and severe (>5) pain on a scale of 0–10.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kivimaki M, Head J, Ferrie JE, Shipley MJ, Vahtera J, et al. Sickness absence as a global measure of health: evidence from mortality in the Whitehall II prospective cohort study. BMJ 327: 364. 10.1136/bmj.327.7411.364 [doi];327/7411/364 [pii] 2003. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Høgelund J, Filges T, Jensen S. Long-term sickness absence − what happens and how does it go? The Danish National Institute of Social Research, Copenhagen. Report. 2003;03:20.
    1. Waddell G, Burton K. Is Work Good for Your Health and Well-being? London: The Stationary Office. 2006.
    1. Veale DJ, Woolf AD, Carr AJ. Chronic musculoskeletal pain and arthritis: impact, attitudes and perceptions. Ir Med J. 2008;101:208–210. - PubMed
    1. Bevan S, Quadrello T, McGee R, Mahdon M, Vovrovsky A, et al. Fit For Work – Musculoskeletal disorders in the European workforce. 2009. pp. 1–143.

Publication types