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Recurrent Infections and Musculoskeletal Disorders—Signs of Generally Increased Care Demands?
Author(s) -
Ekdahl Charlotte,
Söderström Margareta,
Farsnäs Ann Bowen
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-6712.1999.tb00514.x
Subject(s) - medicine , workload , sick leave , respiratory tract infections , medical record , medical diagnosis , health care , physical therapy , pediatrics , respiratory system , pathology , economic growth , computer science , economics , operating system
In this study we describe and analyse the health status, health‐care consumption and the characteristics of persons visiting the primary care centre because of frequent symptoms of respiratory tract infections (RTI) (n = 83) and disorders related to the musculoskeletal system (DMS) (n = 166) as described in medical records for a three‐year period. When all the medical diagnoses, health‐care consumption, sick leave and other information had been gathered, the findings were that more women (73%) than men fulfilled the inclusion criteria. On average, the group with the highest frequency of symptoms paid 8.3 visits/three years to the physician compared with 1.0 for the controls (p < 0.05). The average total sick‐leave attributable to RTI was 29.4 days/3 years and 8.1 days/3 years for the controls. Forty percent of patients in the frequent symptoms group had regular contact with children at work compared with only 18% of the controls. Subjects in the former group were usually manual workers with an increased physical and psychological workload compared with the controls. This group of subjects probably represents a category of vulnerable patients and their total situation should be further investigated.