COMMENTARY

Epidemiology

Studies in occupational epidemiology and the risk of overadjustment

E M de Croon

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr E M de Croon
Coronel Institute for Occupational Health, Academic Medical Center, PO Box 227700, 1100 DE Amsterdam, Netherlands; e.m.decroon@amc.nl

---

Commentary on the paper by Lötters et al (see page 794)

---

Keywords: musculoskeletal disorders; return to work; psychological factors; confounding effects

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Lötters and colleagues’ study¹ about return to work in musculoskeletal disorders is important for three reasons. First, it deals with a type of disorder that is widespread and costly in terms of increased sickness absence and healthcare use.^2,3 Second, it recognises return to work as a biopsychosocial phenomenon that is influenced by medical, environmental, and personal factors. Third, it uses a strong prospective cohort design to examine the effect of depressive symptoms, fear-avoidance, and self-efficacy on return to work.

The study shows that in employees with musculoskeletal disorders, depressive symptoms play a central role in the return-to-work process. Interestingly, this finding is compatible with return-to-work research among workers with other prevalent disorders such as common mental disorders⁴ and cardiovascular disorders.⁵ Given that these three disorders account for the majority of sickness absence days in western countries, the early recognition and treatment of depressive symptoms seems crucial in occupational health . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

The prognostic value of depressive symptoms, fear-avoidance, and self-efficacy for duration of lost-time benefits in workers with musculoskeletal disorders

F Lötters, R-L Franche, S Hogg-Johnson, A Burdorf, J D Pole
Occup. Environ. Med. 2006 63: 794-801. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Loomis, D. (2006). Work in Brief. Occup. Environ. Med. 63: 787-787 [Full Text]