Documents Pitkäniemi, Janne 2 results

"Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of work-related risk factors for future disability pension (DP) due to musculoskeletal diagnoses and for a subgroup of these, namely, DP due to osteoarthritis.Methods For this prospective study of 16 028 Finnish twins born in 1911–1957 and employed at baseline, a postal questionnaire collected information in 1975 on work-related factors; follow-up data on DP was gathered through register linkages up to 2004. A series of proportional hazards (Cox) regression models were used to analyze the associations between work-related factors and the incidence of DP. Results During the 30-year follow-up, 1297 participants (8%) were granted DP due to musculoskeletal diagnoses, 376 of which were due to osteoarthritis. High stress of daily activities, monotonous work, physical workload (namely work including lifting and carrying or physically heavy work), several workplace changes, and unemployment displayed a strong association with DP due to musculoskeletal diagnoses that was not affected by familial factors, including genetics and shared environment. Additionally, standing work increased the risk for DP due to osteoarthritis.Conclusions Uninfluenced by family background or other confounding factors, several work-related factors were identified as being strong and direct risk factors for DP due to musculoskeletal diagnoses."

"Background Panel studies on changes of occupational class differences in health have given varying results. The aim of this study was to examine changes of occupational class differences in physical functioning and the factors that explain these changes.Methods A cohort of middle-aged employees of the City of Helsinki was followed up for an average of 6 years in two surveys from 2000–2002 and 2007. Hierarchical linear random effects models were fitted to analyse the changes of occupational class differences in SF-36 physical functioning, as well as the contribution of physical and psychosocial working conditions, material conditions, health behaviours and employment status to these changes.Results Lower occupational classes had worse physical functioning at baseline: among women, the SF-36 scores ranged from 50.5 in the highest class to 47.1 in the lowest one, and among men from 52.2 to 48.9, with higher scores indicating better health. Occupational class differences widened during the follow-up due to stronger decline of physical functioning in the lower occupational classes than in the higher occupational classes. The largest difference in the decline of functioning between classes was 1.2 scores among women and 1.5 scores among men. Among women the widening of the class differences could be explained partly by health behaviours and employment status and among men by material conditions.Conclusion Occupational class differences in physical functioning widened due to a faster decline of physical functioning in the lower occupational classes. Health behaviours, employment status and material conditions explained the widening class differences in physical functioning."