The humanistic and economic burden of work-related musculoskeletal pain: a cross-sectional survey of workers in the United Kingdom

BMC Research Notes

Research Note

Jennifer Hanning¹  Stephanie Cooper¹  Carolyn Buckley¹  Adam B. Smith² 

[1] Global Medical Affairs, Reckitt, Slough, UK;Health Outcomes, Reckitt, Slough, UK;

关键词: Work-related musculoskeletal pain;    Lower body pain;    Health-related quality of life;    Economic cost;    Absenteeism;    Presenteeism;    Work productivity;    Questionnaire;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13104-023-06461-5

 received in 2022-08-11, accepted in 2023-08-15,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of work-related musculoskeletal (MSK) lower body pain on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity in a large sample of workers in the United Kingdom, as well as evaluating the potential economic impact of MSK pain.MethodsParticipants with self-reported work-related MSK pain were recruited from an online panel maintained by a third party (Qualtrics LLC). Participants completed three validated instruments online: the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the Assessment of Quality of Life Instrument (AQoL-4D), and the 6-item Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI). Sociodemographic details, work patterns and healthcare resource utilisation were also reported. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-tests were used to explore differences between variables. Linear regression was applied to determine the impact of work-related MSK pain on HRQoL.ResultsAll 1035 recruited participants completed the survey (57.4% female; mean age 43.4 years). Participants reported spending all (25.2%) or most (53%) of their time at work on their feet. Mean pain severity was 4.63 (standard deviation: 2.07); mean pain interference was 4.37 (2.49). There was a linear relationship between length of shift, time on feet and pain. Mean AQoL-4D scores were 0.609 (0.254). A mean of 4.12 h was lost per week due to pain. Absenteeism (last 7 days) was 9.5% (20.7%), and presenteeism 33.3% (24.9%). An average 1.55 visits were made to family practitioners (total cost: £19,866) and 1 hospital visit (£37,320) due to work-related MSK pain.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that work-related lower body pain has a significant impact in terms of individual HRQoL and as an economic societal burden.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023