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Absence of relation between sick leave caused by musculoskeletal disorders and exposure to magnetic fields in an aluminum plant
Author(s) -
Moen Bente E.,
Drabløs Per Arne,
Pedersen Svein,
Sjøen Malvin,
Thommesen Georg
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
bioelectromagnetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.435
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-186X
pISSN - 0197-8462
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1521-186x(1996)17:1<37::aid-bem5>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - sick leave , medicine , occupational medicine , occupational exposure , musculoskeletal disorder , cohort , physical therapy , environmental health , poison control , human factors and ergonomics
This is a study of the relationship between occupational exposure to magnetic fields in pot rooms and occurrence of sick leave caused by musculoskeletal disorders. The average exposure to static magnetic fields was 8 mT in the pot rooms. Ripple fields were recorded as well. A cohort of 342 exposed workers and 222 unexposed workers from the same electrolysis plant was retrospectively followed for 5 years. The reference group had a type of work similar to the exposed group except for the exposure to magnetic fields. The occurrence of sick leave and the diagnoses causing the sick leave were obtained from the Occupational Health Care Unit: these data were stored in their computer files. The data were complete. No relationship between the occurrence of sick leave caused by musculoskeletal disorders and exposure to magnetic fields was found. This was the case for both the annual number of periods of sick leave and the total number of days with sick leave. The results must be interpreted with caution due to limitations in the design and available data. Also, static magnetic fields constituted the major exposure, and the results may be different when related to work in other types of magnetic‐field exposure. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.