| Do workers with self-reported symptoms have an elevated risk of developing upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders three years later? (2008) | |||||||||||||||
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| OBJECTIVES: Few prospective studies have evaluated outcomes of workers with self-reported symptoms of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UEMSD). The objective was to study the three-year outcomes of workers with self-reported symptoms, with or without a positive physical examination. METHODS: In 1993-4, 598 subjects highly exposed to repetitive work filled out a Nordic-style questionnaire. They underwent a standardised physical examination at that time and again in 1996-7 by the same occupational physician. The three-year outcomes (based on physical examination) of workers with a self-administered questionnaire positive at baseline for UEMSD, with or without a positive physical examination, were studied. RESULTS: The three-year incidence rate was 44.1%; one third of these incident cases had self-reported symptoms in 1993-4. Workers with a positive questionnaire had a significantly higher risk of UEMSD at physical examination three years later (80.1% UEMSD cases with positive questionnaires n = 354, vs 44.2% cases without positive questionnaires n = 69, p | |||||||||||||||
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