Objectives Many current jobs are characterized by sedentary behavior (SB) and lack of physical activity (PA). This review addresses the effectiveness of workplace interventions that are implemented ...during productive work and are intended to change workers' SB and/or PA. Methods We searched Scopus for articles published from 1992 until 12 March 2015. Relevant studies were evaluated using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies and summarized in a best-evidence synthesis. Primary outcomes were SB and PA, both at work and overall (ie, during the whole day); work performance and health-related parameters were secondary outcomes. Results The review included 40 studies describing 41 interventions organized into three categories: alternative workstations (20), interventions promoting stair use (11), and personalized behavioral interventions (10). Alternative workstations were found to decrease overall SB (strong evidence; even for treadmills separately); interventions promoting stair use were found to increase PA at work while personalized behavioral interventions increased overall PA (both with moderate evidence). There was moderate evidence to show alternative workstations influenced neither hemodynamics nor cardiorespiratory fitness and personalized behavioral interventions did not influence anthropometrie measures. Evidence was either insufficient or conflicting for intervention effects on work performance and lipid and metabolic profiles. Conclusions Current evidence suggests that some of the reviewed workplace interventions that are compatible with productive work indeed have positive effects on SB or PA at work. In addition, some of the interventions were found to influence overall SB or PA positively. Putative long-term effects remain to be established.
Cost of illness study.
To investigate the total costs of back pain in The Netherlands over the years 2002 to 2007.
In 1991, the cost of back pain to the Dutch society was estimated at € 4.2 billion. ...In the last two decades, new laws regarding health insurance and sickness benefits and new guidelines for health care professionals have been introduced and may have affected the societal costs of back pain in The Netherlands.
We conducted a cost-of-illness study in which we gathered relevant available data from national registries, reports of research institutes, descriptive studies, and occupational health care authorities to estimate the total cost of back pain to the Dutch society for the years 2002 to 2007. RESULTS.: The total costs of back pain decreased from € 4.3 billion in 2002 to € 3.5 billion in 2007. The share of these costs was about 0.9% of the gross national product (GNP) in 2002 and 0.6% of GNP in 2007. The ratio between direct and indirect costs did not change noticeably over the years, that is, 12% for direct and 88% for indirect costs.
The total societal costs of back pain have decreased since 1991 and also between 2002 and 2007. Although Dutch policy interventions to lower the indirect costs seem to be successful in the last decades, costs of back pain are still substantial, and indirect costs represent the majority of these costs. Policy interventions and implementation of cost-effective interventions focusing on return-to-work management for back pain in health care is important to further decrease the economic burden of back pain on society.
Experimental studies in animals indicate that disruption of the circadian rhythm is carcinogenic, and night work has been suggested to be a probable breast cancer cause in humans. Findings among ...humans, however are inconsistent, often gathered with retrospective study designs, and only based on specific populations, such as nurses. We used data on night work collected in the Dutch Labor Force Surveys of 1996 until 2009, and individually linked these with National registers on hospital admission. Among 285,723 women without breast cancer at baseline, 2,531 had a hospital admission for breast cancer during an average of 7 years of follow up in the registers. Occasional and regular night work were not associated with the risk of hospital admission for breast cancer (adjusted hazard ratios 1.04; 95 % confidence interval 0.85-1.27, and 0.87; 0.72-1.05, respectively). Working more hours per week, or more years in a job entailing night work did not show increased breast cancer risks. Hazard ratios neither differed between nurses and women with other occupations. Our results show no association of night work with incident breast cancer, and suggest that night work generally does not increase the risk of breast cancer among women in the Dutch working population.
Objectives
The working population is aging and a shortage of workers is expected in the construction industry. As a consequence, it is considered necessary that construction workers extend their ...working life. The purpose of this study was to explore factors associated with construction workers’ ability and willingness to continue working until the age of 65.
Methods
In total, 5,610 construction workers that participated in the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey filled out questionnaires on demographics, work-related and health-related factors, and on the ability and willingness to continue working until the age of 65. Logistic regression analyses were applied.
Results
Older workers were more often able, but less willing, to continue working until the age of 65. Frequently using force, lower supervisor support, lower skill discretion, and the occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints were associated with both a lower ability and willingness to continue working. In addition, dangerous work, occasionally using force, working in awkward postures, lack of job autonomy, and reporting emotional exhaustion were associated with a lower ability to continue working, whereas working overtime was associated with a higher ability. Furthermore, low social support from colleagues was associated with a higher willingness.
Conclusion
In addition to physical job demands, psychosocial job characteristics play a significant role in both the ability and willingness to continue working until the age of 65 in construction workers. Moreover, preventing musculoskeletal complaints may support the ability and willingness to continue working, whereas preventing emotional exhaustion is relevant for the ability to continue working.
OBJECTIVE:--This meta-analysis was undertaken to obtain insight regarding the shape and strength of the relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes, the effects of ...adjustment for confounders, and the effect of modification by type 2 diabetes definition, sex, and BMI. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--The 15 original prospective cohort studies that were included comprise 11,959 incident cases of type 2 diabetes in 369,862 individuals who, on average, were followed for 12 years. RESULTS:--After pooling the data, a U-shaped relationship was found. Compared with nonconsumers, the relative risk (RR) for type 2 diabetes in those who consumed </=6 g/day alcohol was 0.87 (95% CI 0.79-0.95). For the moderate consumption ranges of 6-12, 12-24, and 24-48 g/day, RRs of 0.70 (0.61-0.79), 0.69 (0.58-0.81), and 0.72 (0.62-0.84) were found, respectively. The risk of type 2 diabetes in heavy drinkers (>/=48 g/day) was equal to that in nonconsumers (1.04 0.84-1.29). In general, nonsignificant trends for larger RR reduction associated with moderate alcohol consumption were observed for women compared with men, for crude compared with multivariate-adjusted analyses, and for studies that used self-reports instead of testing for type 2 diabetes definition. No differences in RR reductions were found between individuals with low or high BMI. CONCLUSIONS:--The present evidence from observational studies suggests an approximately30% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in moderate alcohol consumers, whereas no risk reduction is observed in consumers of >/=48 g/day.
BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) during adolescence is predictive of BMI at adult age. However, BMI cannot distinguish between lean and fat body mass. Skinfold thickness may be a better predictor of ...body fatness. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the relations between BMI and skinfold thickness during adolescence and body fatness during adulthood. DESIGN: We included 168 men and 182 women from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study, a prospective study that conducted 8 measurements of BMI and skinfold thickness between 1976 and 2000. BMI and skinfold thickness during adolescence were analyzed in relation to adult body fatness measured at a mean age of 37 y with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: None of the boys and 1.7% of the girls were overweight at baseline, whereas the prevalence of high body fatness during adulthood was 29% in men and 32% in women. At the ages of 12-16 y, skinfold thickness was more strongly associated with adult body fatness than was BMI. Age-specific relative risks for a high level of adult body fatness varied between 2.3 and 4.0 in boys and between 2.1 and 4.3 in girls in the highest versus the lowest tertile of the sum of 4 skinfold thicknesses. For the highest tertile of BMI, the relative risk varied between 0.8 and 2.1 in boys and between 1.3 and 1.8 in girls. CONCLUSION: Skinfold thickness during adolescence is a better predictor of high body fatness during adulthood than is BMI during adolescence.
Introduction
Productivity loss is an increasing problem in an aging working population that is decreasing in numbers. The aim of this study is to identify work-related and health-related ...characteristics associated with productivity loss, due to either sickness absence or reduced performance at work.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, data of the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey of 2007 were used, which includes a national representative sample of 22,759 employees aged 15 to 64 years. Demographic characteristics, health-related and work-related factors were assessed with a questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to study the relationship of work-related and health-related factors with low performance at work and sickness absence in the past 12 months.
Results
Poor general health, the number of longstanding health conditions, and most types of longstanding health conditions were associated with productivity loss. Health-related factors were in general stronger associated with sickness absence than with low performance at work. Performance: poor health OR 1.54 CI 1.38–1.71, >1 health conditions OR 1.21 CI 1.09–1.35; sickness absence: poor health OR 2.62 CI 2.33–2.93, >1 health conditions OR 2.47 CI 2.21–2.75. Of the different types of longstanding health conditions, only psychological complaints and to a small extent musculoskeletal symptoms, were associated with low performance (respectively OR 1.54 CI 1.27–1.87; OR 1.09 CI 1.00–1.18). Low performance at work was less likely among employees with high physically demanding work (shift work OR 0.70 CI 0.63–0.76, using force OR 0.78 CI 0.72–0.84, and repetitive movements OR 0.74 CI 0.70–0.79). Psychosocial factors were stronger associated with low performance at work than with sickness absence (performance: job autonomy OR 1.28 CI 1.21–1.37, job demands OR 1.23 CI 1.16–1.31, emotionally demanding work OR 1.73 CI 1.62–1.85; sickness absence: job autonomy ns, job demands OR 1.09 CI 1.03–1.17, emotionally demanding work OR 1.09 CI 1.02–1.16).
Conclusion
Except for psychological complaints, workers with a longstanding health condition generally perform well while being at work. Nevertheless, the likelihood of taking sick leave is increased. Among work-related factors, psychosocial work characteristics have the strongest relation with productivity loss, mostly with performance while at work.
The primary aim of this study was to investigate the association between BMI and musculoskeletal symptoms in interaction with physical workload. In addition, it was aimed to obtain insight into ...whether overweight and obesity are associated with an increase in occurrence of symptoms and/or decrease in recovery from symptoms.
Based on a large working population sample (n = 44,793), using the data from The Netherlands Working Conditions Survey (NWCS), logistic regression analyses were carried out to investigate the association between BMI and musculoskeletal symptoms, with adjustment for potential confounders. Longitudinal data from the Netherlands Working Conditions Cohort Study (NWCCS) of 7,909 respondents was used for the second research aim (i.e., to investigate the transition in musculoskeletal symptoms).
For high BMI an increased 12-month prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms was found (overweight: OR 1.13, 95% CI: 1.08-1.19 and obesity: OR 1.28, 95% CI: 1.19-1.39). The association was modified by physical workload, with a stronger association for employees with low physical workload than for those with high physical workload. Obesity was related to developing musculoskeletal symptoms (OR 1.37, 95% CI: 1.05-1.79) and inversely related to recovery from symptoms (OR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59-0.97).
BMI was associated with musculoskeletal symptoms, in particular symptoms of the lower extremity. Furthermore, the association differed for employees with high or low physical workload. Compared to employees with normal weight, obese employees had higher risk for developing symptoms as well as less recovery from symptoms. This study supports the role of biomechanical factors for the relationship between BMI and symptoms in the lower extremity.
Introduction
The present study aimed to gain insight in the predictors of full return to work (RTW) among employees on long-term sick leave due to three different self-reported reasons for sick ...leave: physical, mental or co-morbid physical and mental problems. This knowledge can be used to develop diagnosis-specific interventions that promote earlier RTW.
Methods
This prospective cohort study with a two-year follow-up employs a sample of 682 Dutch employees, sick-listed for 19 weeks (SD = 1.68), who filled out two questionnaires: at 19 weeks and 2 years after the start of sick leave. The dependent measure was duration until full RTW, the independent measures were cause of sick leave, health characteristics, individual characteristics and work characteristics.
Results
Reporting both physical and mental problems as reasons for sick leave was associated with a longer duration until full RTW. Nonparametric Cox survival analysis showed that partial RTW at baseline and lower age were strong predictors of earlier RTW in all three groups, and that RTW self-efficacy predicted earlier RTW in two groups. Other predictors of full RTW varied among groups.
Conclusions
Tailoring for different reasons for sick leave might improve the effects of new interventions because the predictors of full RTW differ among groups. Enhancement of partial RTW and RTW self-efficacy may be relevant components of any intervention, as these were predictors of full RTW in at least two groups.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the associations between body mass index (BMI) and sick leave, and the mediating role of emotional exhaustion.
METHODS:Data were collected from a large survey among Dutch ...employees (n = 35,022). The causal pathway approach consisting of four regression analyses was applied.
RESULTS:In women, moderate overweight and obesity were associated with higher sick leave; in men, obesity, but not moderate overweight, was associated with higher sick leave. Obese workers were at increased risk for emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion was also associated with higher sick leave rates. Adjustment for emotional exhaustion in the association between BMI and sick leave hardly changed the effect size and significance remained.
CONCLUSIONS:The association between BMI status and sick leave can be explained partially by the presence of emotional exhaustion. Workplace health promotion initiatives should take this into account.
PDF
