Psychosocial Work Environment and Musculoskeletal Symptoms among 21-Year-Old Workers: A Population-Based Investigation (2011-2013)

Sara Lourenço; Filomena Carnide; Fernando G Benavides; Raquel Lucas

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130010

Psychosocial Work Environment and Musculoskeletal Symptoms among 21-Year-Old Workers: A Population-Based Investigation (2011-2013)

PLoS One. 2015 Jun 15;10(6):e0130010. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130010. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Sara Lourenço¹, Filomena Carnide², Fernando G Benavides³, Raquel Lucas⁴

Affiliations

¹ EPIUnit-Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
² Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal.
³ Research Centre in Occupational Health, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain.
⁴ EPIUnit-Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal.

Abstract

Background: The current labour market is becoming more flexible and informal, with job insecurity selectively affecting young workers. However, the role of these increasing adverse psychosocial working conditions on health outcomes remains little known among newly employed workers.

Objective: To estimate the associations between psychosocial work environment and musculoskeletal outcomes (widespread pain syndrome features and regional pain) in a population-based sample of young workers.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from workers aged 21 years were collected during the third wave of the EPITeen cohort study (2011-2013; n=650). The Job Content Questionnaire was used to characterize the psychosocial work environment according to the demand-control-support model. Data on pain and non-pain dimensions of the widespread pain syndrome (Fibromyalgia Survey Questionnaire) as well as on regional musculoskeletal pain (Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire) were also collected. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were computed using logistic regression and all estimates were adjusted for sex, education and occupational biomechanical demands.

Results: Job insecurity was significantly associated to the non-pain dimension of the widespread pain syndrome (adjusted OR [95% CI]=1.51 [1.08, 2.12]). Young workers with strain jobs were significantly more likely to report high levels of non-pain symptoms when compared with those with no-strain jobs and this effect was even stronger when social support was added to the main exposure: workers with strain jobs and low social support had twice the odds of reporting high levels of non-pain features than those with high strain but high social support jobs (adjusted OR=1.86, 95% CI: 1.04, 3.31). These significant associations were not observed when widespread pain or multisite regional pain were the outcomes.

Conclusion: In the beginning of professional life, high strain jobs were associated to non-pain complaints, especially when the work environment provided also low social support.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Burnout, Professional / epidemiology*
Burnout, Professional / psychology
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Musculoskeletal Diseases / epidemiology*
Musculoskeletal Diseases / psychology
Musculoskeletal Pain / psychology*
Occupational Diseases / epidemiology*
Occupational Diseases / psychology
Portugal / epidemiology
Prognosis
Stress, Psychological / psychology*
Workplace / psychology*
Young Adult

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, references: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-015750, FCT – PTDC/SAU-EPI/115254/2009). Sara Lourenço gratefully acknowledges a doctoral grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; reference SFRH/BD/77965/2011). The funder (FCT) had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.