Ergonomic and individual risk factors for musculoskeletal pain in the ageing workforce

BMC Public Health

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of the study population—citizens between 50-65y living in the Esbjerg municipality in December 2016

Parameters	Frequency (n)	Percentage (%)
Sex
Male	4681	50.5
Female	4582	49.5
Age group
50-55y	3253	35.1
56-60y	3931	42.4
> 60y	2079	22.4
Work type
White collar	6929	74.8
Blue collar	2334	25.2
MSP
Back pain	2102	22.7
Shoulder pain	1745	18.8
Hip pain	758	8.2
Knee pain	1204	13.0
Walk / stand
Low exposure	999	10.8
Moderate exposure	4038	43.6
High exposure	3667	39.6
Back twisted / bend
Low exposure	5504	59.4
Moderate exposure	2259	24.4
High exposure	977	10.6
Arms above shoulder
Low exposure	6802	73.4
Moderate exposure	1659	17.9
High exposure	293	3.2
Repeated arm movement
Low exposure	6177	66.7
Moderate exposure	1466	15.8
High exposure	1089	11.8
Squatting / lying on knees
Low exposure	7137	77.1
Moderate exposure	1424	15.4
High exposure	204	2.2
Pushing /pulling
Low exposure	6504	70.2
Moderate exposure	1822	19.7
High exposure	405	4.4
Carrying / lifting
Low exposure	5860	63.3
Moderate exposure	2329	25.1
High exposure	571	6.2
Moderate LTPA
None	1602	17.3
Under 2 h/w	3400	36.7
2–4 h/w	2344	25.3
> 4 h/w	1080	11.7
Intense LTPA
None	6880	74.3
Under 2 h/w	715	7.7
2–4 h/w	416	4.5
> 4 h/w	225	2.4
BMI
Underweight	48	0.5
Normal	3095	33.4
Overweight	3484	37.6
Obese	1673	18.1
Extremely obese	142	1.5
Smoking
Yes	1457	15.7
Previously	1747	18.9
Never	5330	57.5
Chronic cardiovascular disease
Yes	350	3.8
Diabetes
Ye	452	4.9
Asthma
Yes	776	8.4
Metabolic disease
Yes	500	5.4
Depression
Yes	216	2.3
Cancer
Yes	701	7.6
COPD
Yes	285	3.1

Abbreviations: MSP Musculoskeletal pain, LTPA Leisure time physical activity, BMI Body mass index, COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder
Low exposure indicates 0–25% of the time, moderate exposure = 25–50% of the time, high exposure = 75% or more of the time. MSP was dichotomized into no pain (VAS 0–39) and pain (VAS 40–100)

ISSN: 1471-2458