Assessment of work-related ill-health and the potential for prevention

Lack of knowledge about the occurrence of work-related health problems in the general population makes it difficult to estimate the potential for their prevention in the workplace. Several studies have found large geographical and socio-economic inequalities in health in Oslo. Many diseases are more frequent and life expectancy is shorter in eastern and central parts of Oslo, as well as among people in lower social classes, with short education and low income. Work might be one explanation for social inequalities in health. Self-reported data are often used to measure work-related illness in the population, for instance by Statistics Norway in their Survey of Living Conditions. However, some people have been sceptical, assuming this would give exaggerated estimates.

The aims of this project were to (1) examine the occurrence and distribution of self-reported work-related health problems and their impact on the burden of ill-health; (2) quantify socio-economic inequalities in the occurrence of self-reported musculoskeletal pain in the general working population in Oslo, and examine the impact of job characteristics on these inequalities; and (3) compare self-reported work-relatedness of various health problems with physicians’ assessments based on specific criteria.

The study was part of the Oslo Health Study 2000–2001, in which all individuals in certain age cohorts were invited to a comprehensive health screening. All 30-, 40-, and 45-year old subjects who attended were asked whether they had experienced 11 specific work-related health problems in the past month. A sample of 217 employed participants in the Oslo Health Study, who reported skin or respiratory symptoms, or neck, shoulder or arm pain in the past month, underwent a health examination at STAMI.

Four scientific articles and a PhD thesis based on this study have been published. The results of comparisons between self-reported and physician-assessed work-relatedness of skin and respiratory symptoms remain to be published.

Project page in Norwegian