Article

OBJECTIVES: To explore dual quantitative relationships between low back pain
(LBP) prevalence and different individual and occupational risk factors, and
detect the most important ones which can be used as weighted input data in LBP
prediction diagnosis models, providing effective tools to help with the
implementation of protection and prevention strategies among hospital staff.
METHODS: Fourteen predictor individual risk factors (e.g., age, gender, body mass
index BMI [kg/m(2)], domestic activity, etc.) and 17 occupational risk factors
(e.g., job status, standing hours/day, sufficient break time, job
dissatisfaction, etc.) were collected using self-reported questionnaire among the
staff of Sacre-Coeur hospital - Lebanon (used as a case study), and correlated
with LBP prevalence using Kendall's tau-b bivariate nonparametric approaches.
RESULTS: This study indicates that among the investigated occupational risk
factors, job status, working hours/day, and standing hours/day are the most
influencing on LBP prevalence (highly correlated with other factors at 1 and 5%
confidence levels). It also shows that strong positive (between 0.25 and
0.65)/negative (from -0.38 to -0.26) statistical correlations to LBP prevalence
exist between these risk occupational factors and working days/week, sitting
hours/day, job stress, job dissatisfaction, children care, and car driving. The
weekly hours of domestic activity, the staff height, and gender type have proven
also to be the strongest individual factors in aggravating LBP disease. These
individual factors are highly correlated at 1% significance level (ranging
between 0.28 and 0.49 for positive correlations, and from -0.49 to -0.25 for
negative ones) to children care, weight, extra professional activity, and use of
handling techniques. CONCLUSIONS: These obtained bivariate correlations can be
used successfully by expert physicians in their decision making for LBP
diagnosis.
CI - Copyright (c) 2011 Societe francaise de rhumatologie. Published by Elsevier SAS.
All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS