A study of the effect of psychosocial working conditions on the rate of musculoskeletal disorders

The aim of this research task was to establish the relationship between psychosocial working conditions and musculoskeletal disorders determined in medical examinations.The study was prospective; it was done twice, with an interval of 12 months, in 750 workers reporting for periodic preventive examinations. Psychosocial working conditions were diagnosed with a "Your work" questionnaire. Musculoskeletal disorders were assessed with a physical examination of the musculoskeletal system carried out by physicians who had been trained in administering diagnostic tests for overload syndromes of the musculoskeletal system. 542 persons took part in the second series of tests. Their mean age was 43.6 years, 75% were females, approximately 37% of the subjects were blue-collar workers, 33% were white-collar workers, 30% did mixed (blue- and white-collar) work.The results of the tests showed that in this group of subjects disorders of the following regions were the most frequent: lower back (57%), wrist/hand (47%) and upper back (44%). To establish the relationship between psychosocial working conditions (demands, control, social support and job insecurity) and selected overload syndromes hierarchic logistic regression analysis (SPSS 18.0) was done; selected physical aspects of work factors (work time, repetitiveness and exerted force) and individual factors (age, gender and sport) were controlled.