Premium
Prevalence of persistent neck and upper limb pain in a historical cohort of sewing machine operators
Author(s) -
Andersen Johan Hviid,
Gaardboe Ove
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700240604
Subject(s) - medicine , shoulders , sewing machine , cohort , confounding , cohort study , population , physical therapy , surgery , environmental health , mechanical engineering , engineering
Four hundred and twenty‐four sewing machine operators from a historical cohort of garment industry workers answered questionnaires concerning musculoskeletal symptoms and job exposure. They were compared with 781 women from the general population of the region and an internal control group of 89 women from the garment industry. The risk for persistent neck and shoulder complaints increased with years of being a sewing machine operator: (up to seven years, eight to fifteen years, and more than fifteen years: prevalence proportion ratio 1.8, 3.5 and 4.4 [neck] and 1.5, 4 and 6.8 [shoulder] compared with the controls [n = 781]). The exposure‐response relationships remained when adjusted for potential confounders, of which age, current shoulder‐neck exposure, and child bearing were the most contributing. The study revealed that work for more than eight years as a sewing machine operator probably has a cumulative deleterious effect on the neck and shoulders. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.