Table 5
Rate ratios (RR) of short (3–7 days) and long (>7 days) absences due to low back pain according to psychosocial work characteristics
| Short absenteeism | Long absenteeism | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Risk factor | Absences of 3–7 days n (workers† (n)) | Adjusted RR (95% CI*)§ (n=688) | Absences of >7 days n (workers‡ (n)) | Adjusted RR (95% CI*)§ (n=751) |
| *95% CI, 95% confidence interval; †from the cohort of 988 workers, data on the reasons for all absences of 3–7 days were available for 789 workers, for between 772 and 783 of these 789 workers, data were available on the various psychosocial work characteristics presented in this table; ‡from the cohort of 988 workers, data on the reasons for all absences of more than 7 days were available for 878 workers, for between 859 and 870 of these 878 workers, data were available on the various psychosocial work characteristics presented in this table; §rate ratio from Poisson regression, adjusted for sex, age, smoking, body mass index, exercise behaviour during leisure time, coping skills (active problem solving, avoidance behaviour, social support seeking), moving of heavy loads during leisure time, flexion or rotation of the upper part of the body during leisure time, driving a vehicle during leisure time, trunk flexion, lifting, driving a vehicle at work, job security, and the other psychosocial work characteristics mentioned in the table. | ||||
| Quantitative job demands: | ||||
| Low (score 6–11) | 30 (217) | 1.00 | 47 (235) | 1.00 |
| Medium (score 12–16) | 44 (507) | 0.60 (0.34 to 1.06) | 117 (570) | 1.13 (0.76 to 1.70) |
| High (score 17–20) | 3 (56) | 0.10 (0.01 to 0.57) | 13 (63) | 0.86 (0.37 to 1.80) |
| Conflicting demands: | ||||
| Disagree | 51 (508) | 1.00 | 113 (563) | 1.00 |
| Agree | 20 (216) | 0.77 (0.40 to 1.39) | 45 (243) | 0.75 (0.49 to 1.11) |
| Strongly agree | 5 (53) | 1.49 (0.49 to 3.67) | 13 (58) | 0.93 (0.40 to 1.89) |
| Decision authority: | ||||
| High (score 10–12) | 12 (157) | 1.00 | 32 (176) | 1.00 |
| Medium (score 7–9) | 58 (505) | 0.97 (0.46 to 2.20) | 124 (539) | 1.32 (0.75 to 2.41) |
| Low (score 3–6) | 7 (110) | 0.44 (0.13 to 1.37) | 24 (144) | 0.80 (0.37 to 1.72) |
| Skill discretion: | ||||
| High (score 17–20) | 16 (174) | 1.00 | 31 (185) | 1.00 |
| Medium (score 12–16) | 51 (515) | 0.83 (0.39 to 1.84) | 107 (566) | 0.84 (0.48 to 1.51) |
| Low (score 5–11) | 10 (93) | 1.27 (0.44 to 3.61) | 42 (118) | 1.19 (0.59 to 2.46) |
| Supervisor support: | ||||
| High (score 13–16) | 6 (92) | 1.00 | 17 (98) | 1.00 |
| Medium (score 11, 12) | 38 (457) | 1.83 (0.70 to 5.55) | 99 (508) | 0.77 (0.42 to 1.49) |
| Low (score 4–10) | 33 (232) | 2.89 (1.06 to 8.94) | 63 (262) | 0.77 (0.39 to 1.59) |
| Coworker support: | ||||
| High (score 13–16) | 14 (153) | 1.00 | 26 (165) | 1.00 |
| Medium (score 11, 12) | 48 (541) | 0.67 (0.34 to 1.38) | 123 (599) | 1.07 (0.65 to 1.82) |
| Low (score 4–10) | 13 (85) | 0.88 (0.36 to 2.17) | 30 (101) | 1.49 (0.79 to 2.87) |
| Job satisfaction: | ||||
| Good | 40 (461) | 1.00 | 91 (517) | 1.00 |
| Reasonable | 29 (273) | 1.01 (0.57 to 1.78) | 71 (303) | 1.00 (0.68 to 1.46) |
| Not good or moderate | 8 (49) | 1.45 (0.50 to 3.63) | 17 (50) | 2.13 (1.09 to 3.95) |
