The impact of the work environment on musculoskeletal diseases

Background

Medical researchers hold varying opinions concerning the impact of the work environment on musculoskeletal diseases. No up-to-date, scientifically based compilation of research in this field is currently available. Thus, there is a great need for a compilation of the research that has been conducted about the impact of the work environment on musculoskeletal diseases.

Many people develop work-related musculoskeletal diseases, which represent the great majority of diseases reported to the Swedish Work Environment Authority and Swedish Tax Agency as having been caused by the work environment. Such diseases place a heavy burden on the healthcare system, while entailing major societal costs. A review and compilation of the current state of research in the field is vital to preventive occupational health and safety efforts, as well as due process in society's assessment of occupational injuries. A compilation of the research will help provide a shared basis from which to evaluate the impact of the work environment on musculoskeletal diseases.

Purpose

The purpose of the project is to conduct a systematic, critical review of scientific studies that can document correlations between work environment factors and musculoskeletal diseases.

Among the questions that the project will address are:

• Has exposure to conceivable hazardous work environment factors been sufficiently described?
• Is exposure to a particular hazardous factor quantitative or qualitative?
• Have dose-response relationships been reported, or can research findings provide the basis for such reporting?
• How much consideration has been paid to conceivable confounders?

Distinctions are made between musculoskeletal injuries or diseases that:
- are caused primarily by the work environment
- are essentially unrelated to the work environment but whose progress is accelerated by work environment factors, therefore producing symptoms earlier than had otherwise been the case
- trigger symptoms but do not cause permanent functional impairment – often the case for degenerative conditions

The assessment is not intended to apply the scientific evidence to legal concepts.