Authors
Forde-MS; Punnett-L; Wegman-DH
Source
J Occup Environ Hyg 2005 Apr; 2(4):203-212
Abstract
The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) symptoms and doctor-diagnosed musculoskeletal disorders (DDMDs) were estimated among union construction ironworkers by a telephone-administered questionnaire. Of 1996 ironworkers eligible, 1566 were contacted and 981 were interviewed. The prevalence of self-reported MSD symptoms was high for the lower back (56%), wrist/hands/fingers (40%), knees (39%), and shoulders (36%). The most common DDMDs were tendonitis (19%), ruptured disk in the back (18%), bursitis in the shoulder (15%), and carpal tunnel syndrome (12%). Generally, the prevalence of DDMDs and MSD symptoms increased with duration of employment. In age-adjusted logistic regression analyses, those who worked 25 to 35 years were more likely to have tendonitis (odds ratio [OR] 7.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.1-16.6), shoulder bursitis (OR 13.7, 95% CI 3.1-60.4), knee bursitis (OR 5.1, 95% CI 1.0-25.1), and ruptured intervertebral back disk (OR 6.7, 95% CI 2.6-7.5). The effect of prior injury was also consistently high (upper extremities, OR 4.6; lower extremities OR 5.1; lower back, OR 6.0). Among workers without prior injuries, MSD symptoms were more frequent for the lower back in structural ironwork (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.6), and for the upper extremity in concrete reinforcement ironwork (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2-2.9). These findings suggest that some musculoskeletal morbidity in construction ironworkers may be work related and thus preventable.
Keywords
Construction; Construction-workers; Construction-equipment; Construction-industry; Construction-materials; Iron-industry; Iron-workers; Iron-working-industry; Musculoskeletal-system-disorders; Ergonomics; Health-surveys; Questionnaires; Back-injuries; Body-regions; Extremities; Cumulative-trauma-disorders; Cumulative-trauma; Carpal-tunnel-syndrome; Repetitive-work; Morbidity-rates; Statistical-analysis;
Author Keywords: construction; ironworkers; musculoskeletal disorders
Contact
Martin S. Forde, St. George's University, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, P.O. Box 7, St. George's, Grenada, West Indies
Document Type
Journal Article
Email Address
mforde@sgu.edu
Funding Type
Cooperative Agreement; Construction
Identifying No.
Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U02-CCU-312014; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-317202
Source Name
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
Performing Organization
Center to Protect Workers' Rights