Influence of the type of occupation on osteoarthritis of the knee in men: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010-2012

The Correlation of Frequency of Work-Related Disorders with Type of Work among Polish Employees

Musculoskeletal disorders have a significant negative impact on the quality of life of the population. These conditions, as well as other work-related disorders, generate costs associated with treatment and work absence, which makes it a growing problem in industrialized countries. Available data from studies on individual populations of workers indicate a higher incidence of certain symptoms in these groups. Due to the lack of studies on the general population, we aimed to perform the preliminary study evaluating the occurrence of pain and work-related conditions depending on the type of occupational work among Polish employees to identify further possible areas for research. Data was collected using an electronic self-administered questionnaire, which was distributed in groups bringing together various professionals. The data obtained from 379 participants have been analyzed and divided according to performed work into sedentary, forced posture, standing, physical and requiring physical activity. Our study reveals a correlation between the frequency of work-related disorders and type of work performed in the Polish population. A significant correlation between the type of occupational work and prevalence of ankle, knee and shoulder pain, as well as heavy legs or upper limb paresthesia was found. According to our findings, female employees may be more vulnerable to lower limb symptoms. A place of residence also seems to affect the prevalence of upper back pain and heavy legs. The analysis also showed a correlation between the occurrence of hip, knee and ankle pain and the level of education of the participants. Surprisingly, lower extremity paresthesia was significantly more common among participants undertaking additional physical activity, compared to non-physically active respondents.

Additive Interaction of Work-Related Stress and Sleep Duration on Arthritis Among Middle-Aged Civil Servants

Aim

Occupational strain is recognized as a risk for arthritis, yet little is known about how psychological stress affects arthritis moderated by sleep duration. The objective of this study is to assess work-related stress using the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model and the job-demand-support (JDS) model on arthritis moderated by sleep duration.

Methods

A nationwide cross-sectional study randomly collected a total of 11,875 middle-aged, employed civil servants from 647 registered governmental institutions. Each participant anonymously and voluntarily filled out a web-based questionnaire and informed consent at the time of the study. Psychosocial work stress was assessed by ERI and JDS measured by a Chinese version of the job content questionnaire.

Results

There were significant odds ratios (ORs) of arthritis positively associated with high ERI (OR = 1.58), high overcommitment (OC) (OR = 1.57), and job demand (OR = 1.31) and negatively associated with job support (OR = 0.69) using multivariate analysis after being adjusted for covariates. For the short sleep duration group, there was an interaction effect of both high ERI and OC on arthritis, with a synergy index of 18.91 and 1.52, respectively. Similarly, there are high ORs of arthritis in both the high job demand and low job support groups.

Conclusion

Work-related stress related to arthritis moderated by sleep duration for civil servants. Civil servants with high job demand and low job support should use caution to reduce the risk of arthritis.

Effects of Prevalent and Newly Diagnosed Arthritis on Changes in Perceived Physical Demands and Work Stress Among Older Workers: Results of a 3 Year Panel Study

OBJECTIVES

Examine the effects of prevalent and newly diagnosed arthritis on changes in perceived physical demands and general work stress.

METHODS

Conditional change logistic regression models examined the strength of association between arthritis and perceived (1) work stress and (2) physical demands, using data from the NIDI Pension Panel Study (n = 2099).

RESULTS

Prevalent and newly diagnosed arthritis were associated with increased odds of perceived work stress and high physical demands. Manual workers with newly diagnosed arthritis exhibited a 6.73-fold (95% CI = 2.87-15.77) increased odds of physical demands. Arthritis in three body extremities was differentially associated with increased odds of work stress and physical demands in manual and non-manual workers.

DISCUSSION

Prevalent and incident arthritis were associated with changes in work stress and physical demands in older workers. Policies and workplace interventions to reduce stress and physical demands and improve workability in older workers with arthritis are needed.

Association between changes in the knee adduction moment and changes in knee pain and function in response to non-surgical biomechanical interventions for medial knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review

There is lack of understanding of the relationship between knee adduction moment (KAM) reductions and improvements in pain or function in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Moreover, there is no systematic review describing the longitudinal relationship between KAM changes and subsequent changes in pain and/or physical function. We aimed (1) to investigate the relationship between changes in KAM induced by non-surgical biomechanical interventions and consecutive changes in pain and/or physical function in patients with medial KOA and (2) to compare this relationship for different interventions. We considered eligible all RCTs using biomechanical interventions aimed to reduce KAM in KOA patients, that measured pain/function. We used Cohen's d effect size to quantify outcome measurements. 14 papers reporting 11 studies were identified. Braces were tested in 6 studies, insoles in 5 studies, shoes in 3 studies and gait retraining in 2 studies. Methodological differences were large among studies. Large effect sizes (≥0.8) changes in pain/function were observed with interventions having at least a small KAM effect size (≥0.2), suggesting an association between KAM and pain/function changes. A linear trend was observed between inter-intervention KAM and VAS pain effect sizes, based on 4 studies. No firm conclusions could be drawn for the different intervention types. There was a trend toward larger KAM reductions leading to larger improvements in pain/function in non-surgical biomechanical interventions. Additional high-quality RCT with consistent methodology are needed to fully characterize the association between KAM and pain/function changes.

Health Disparities Among Workers With Standing Position and Limited Restroom Access: A Cosmetics Saleswomen Study in South Korea

Korean cosmetics sales workers in department stores face harmful working environments, including limited restroom access, working long hours in a standing position, and customer violence. This study investigated health disparities between cosmetics saleswomen and the general population of working women in South Korea. We assessed the prevalence of health indicators, including physician-diagnosed disease, using a cross-sectional survey of 860 Korean cosmetics saleswomen in September 2018. Health indicators of cosmetics saleswomen were compared to those of general working women from the nationally representative datasets (e.g., National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort). We estimated age-standardized prevalence ratios (SPRs) for health outcomes, including physical, mental, and health-related behavioral conditions. Cosmetics saleswomen were more likely to be diagnosed or treated for physical and mental conditions (e.g., cystitis SPR: 4.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.48-4.65; plantar fasciitis SPR: 23.48, 95% CI: 18.12-29.93; varicose vein SPR: 38.41, 95% CI: 32.18-45.49; and depression SPR: 11.18, 95% CI: 8.53-14.40) compared to general working women. Prevalence of smoking and hazardous alcohol consumption was also higher among cosmetics saleswomen than those of general women workers. Given our findings, further research is needed to identify work-related risk factors that could deteriorate cosmetic sales workers' health in South Korea.

Exploring "wear and tear" of joints and "muscle function" assumptions in skeletons with known occupation at death

OBJECTIVES

Changes in the joints are believed to result from "wear and tear," a consequence of activity, as entheseal changes (EC) result from muscle use. However, clinical data showed that activity does not necessarily increase the likelihood of degenerative joint changes (DJC) and that exercise results in healthier joints. We tested whether individuals with continuous repetitive biomechanical efforts (Group 1) were more likely to exhibit EC and if occupations known to exert strenuous but discontinued efforts (Group 2) would more likely cause DJC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eighty-nine males with known occupations from Portuguese identified collections were used: shoemakers and carpenters (Group 1), workers (Group 2), and civil servants, and shop assistants as a control group. Major upper and lower limb joints and entheses sites were used. DJC and EC were tested between occupations - while controlling for age (overall approach) - and within occupation (occupation-specific approach).

RESULTS

The overall approach showed that age - as a covariant - had a significant impact on DJC and EC development (p < 0.05), with occupation being non-significant (p > 0.05) despite the variability in the mean-values of lesions. The occupation-specific approach showed a significant variability of DJC and EC correlations, within and between occupations, with no clear trend of DJC and EC development according to occupation.

DISCUSSION

The results showed that exploring overall patterns might conceal occupation-specific joint and muscle use, emphasizing age as a major contributor of changes; and that the occupation-specific approach highlighted particular aspects associated with occupations, allowing for a more informative assessment of strenuous repetitive or discontinuous activity-related technical gestures and their impact on skeletal biology.

The prevalence of and demographic factors associated with radiographic knee osteoarthritis in Korean adults aged ≥ 50 years: The 2010-2013 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

BACKGROUND

To reduce the social burden of knee osteoarthritis (OA) by addressing it in the early stages in the population at greatest risk, the epidemiology of knee OA needs to be understood and associated demographic factors need to be identified.

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the weighted prevalence of and demographic factors associated with radiographic knee OA in Korean adults.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 12,287 individuals aged ≥ 50 years who had radiographs of the knee taken in the 2010-2013 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Radiographic knee OA was defined based on the Kellgren-Lawrence grade, as follows: 0: No abnormal finding 1: Mild degenerative changes, minute osteophytes 2: Mild knee OA, definite osteophytes 3: Moderate knee OA, moderate joint-space narrowing and definite osteophytes 4: Severe knee OA, severe joint-space narrowing with subchondral sclerosis.

RESULTS

We found that the prevalence of radiographic knee OA in the Korean adult population was 35.1%. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated independently with radiographic knee OA, with age, sex, area of residence, education level, household income, and obesity serving as covariates. Women were at greater risk than men of having knee OA (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.90-2.37, p < 0.001). Compared with subjects aged 50-59 years, adults aged ≥ 80 years were at 8.87-fold (95% CI 7.12-11.06, p < 0.001) greater risk of having knee OA. Residence in a rural area was associated with a greater risk of having radiographic knee OA than was residence in an urban area (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.08-1.48, p = 0.004), regardless of knee OA severity (Kellgren-Lawrence grades ≥2, ≥3, and 4). Elementary school graduates had 1.71-fold (p < 0.001) greater risks of having knee OA than did college graduates. Household incomes ≤24th percentile were associated with a greater risk of having knee OA compared with those ≥75th percentile (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.08-1.52, p = 0.004). Obesity was associated with an approximately two-fold greater risk of knee OA, regardless of knee OA severity (Kellgren-Lawrence grades ≥2, ≥3, and 4).

CONCLUSIONS

Using data from the 2010-2013 KNHANES and defining knee OA as Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥ 2, we found that the prevalence of radiographic knee OA was 35.1% (24.4% in men, 44.3% in women) in a representative sample of Korean adults aged ≥ 50 years, with the highest prevalence (78.7%) observed in women aged ≥ 80 years. Low socioeconomic status and traditional factors, including age, female sex, and obesity, were associated with the risk of knee OA.

Influence of the type of occupation on osteoarthritis of the knee in men: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010-2012

Objectives

We investigated the influence of different types of lifetime occupation on knee osteoarthritis (OA) and pain based on a nationwide survey in Korea.

Methods

We conducted a cross‐sectional study using Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2010 to 2012. Men ≥50 years old were divided into four occupational groups: white‐collar (WC) workers, pink‐collar (PC) workers, blue‐collar (BC) workers, and agribusiness and low‐level (AL) workers. The risks for knee OA and pain development according to occupation were compared to the risks in WC workers, using multiple logistic regression analyses.

Results

Different occupations were associated with different levels of risk for knee OA and knee pain. The risk for knee OA was higher in BC workers and in AL workers than in WC workers, in order of higher risk. The risk for severe knee OA was likewise higher in AL workers and in BC workers, in order of higher risk. The risk for chronic knee pain was higher in AL workers, BC workers, and PC workers, in order of higher risk. The risk for moderate to severe chronic knee pain was higher in AL workers and BC workers, in order of higher risk.

Conclusions

The results suggest that occupation might affect the development of knee OA and presence of chronic knee pain in men ≥50 years old. WC workers are least affected by knee OA and chronic knee pain, and AL and BC workers are at clearly higher risk for knee OA and chronic knee pain.