Skip Navigation



The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on September 5, 2006
The European Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckl121
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (Rapid PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
17/2/145    most recent
ckl121v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Aittomäki, A.
Right arrow Articles by Martikainen, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Aittomäki, A.
Right arrow Articles by Martikainen, P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.
Received January 12, 2006
Accepted July 4, 2006

Article

The contribution of musculoskeletal disorders and physical workload to socioeconomic inequalities in health

Akseli Aittomäki 1 *, Eero Lahelma 1, Ossi Rahkonen 1, Päivi Leino-Arjas 2, and Pekka Martikainen 3

1 Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland
2 Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 aA, FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland
3 Department of Sociology, University of Helsinki, Finland

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Akseli Aittomäki, E-mail: akseli.aittomaki{at}helsinki.fi


  Abstract

Objectives: The objective of the study was to examine whether the association of physical workload with musculoskeletal disorders might explain occupational social class inequalities in self-rated health. Methods: Participants of the study were 40-60 years old employees of the City of Helsinki. The data (n = 3740) were derived from several sources, including mail survey designed by the researchers and health check-ups carried out by occupational health care. Prevalence data and logistic regression were used in the analyses. Results: An occupational class gradient was found for musculoskeletal disorders. The gradient in musculoskeletal disorders was largely explained by physical demands at work in both genders. The contribution of physical demands to occupational class gradient in self-rated health was considerable in women, but smaller in men. The contribution of musculoskeletal disorder to the occupational class gradient in self-rated health was weak for both genders. Conclusion: Physical workload is likely to considerably contribute to inequalities in health. Mediation of this effect through musculoskeletal disorder to generic health, however, could not be demonstrated. Different mechanisms are likely to cause inequalities in different health outcomes.

Keywords: health status; musculoskeletal disorders; occupational social class; physical workload.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.