Table 4
Psychosocial factors at work and herniation of the lumbar discs
| Variable | Lumbar disc herniation combined with osteochondrosis/spondylosis | “Pure” lumbar disc herniation (lumbar osteochondrosis/spondylosis radiographically excluded) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls | Cases | Cases | ||||||||
| n | % | n | % | Adj. OR* | 95% CI | n | % | Adj. OR* | 95% CI | |
| *Adjusted for age, region, nationality, other diseases of the lumbar spine, and lifting/carrying combined with extreme forward bending. | ||||||||||
| †Exposure score included as a continuous variable in the logistic regression model. | ||||||||||
| Monotonous (meaning: always the same) work (1 = very varied work to 6 = very monotonous) | ||||||||||
| Number of working years classified as monotonous (5 or 6) | ||||||||||
| 0 | 119 | 60.4 | 79 | 60.3 | 1.0 | – | 67 | 71.3 | 1.0 | – |
| >0–<10 | 51 | 25.9 | 41 | 31.3 | 1.2 | 0.6 to 2.1 | 20 | 21.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 to 1.3 |
| ⩾10 | 6 | 3.0 | 6 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 0.4 to 5.7 | 4 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 0.4 to 10.6 |
| p for trend† | p=0.46 | p=0.64 | ||||||||
| Boring (meaning: nothing to do) work (1 = very interesting to 6 = very boring) | ||||||||||
| Number of working years classified as boring (5 or 6) | ||||||||||
| 0 | 132 | 67.0 | 93 | 71.0 | 1.0 | – | 68 | 72.3 | 1.0 | – |
| >0–<10 | 39 | 19.8 | 27 | 20.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 to 2.0 | 18 | 19.1 | 1.0 | 0.5 to 2.2 |
| ⩾10 | 5 | 2.5 | 3 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 to 4.5 | 3 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 0.3 to 8.4 |
| p for trend† | p=0.90 | p=0.77 | ||||||||
| Opportunities to use knowledge and skills (1 = very often to 6 = very seldom) | ||||||||||
| Number of working years classified as 5 or 6 | ||||||||||
| 0 | 117 | 59.4 | 71 | 54.2 | 1.0 | – | 57 | 60.6 | 1.0 | – |
| >0–<10 | 49 | 24.9 | 52 | 39.7 | 1.6 | 0.9 to 2.9 | 28 | 29.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 to 1.8 |
| ⩾10 | 10 | 5.1 | 4 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 to 2.2 | 4 | 4.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 to 2.3 |
| p for trend† | p=0.57 | p=0.49 | ||||||||
| Information about future plans (1 = very much to 6 = very little) | ||||||||||
| Number of working years classified as 5 or 6 | ||||||||||
| 0 | 76 | 38.6 | 42 | 32.1 | 1.0 | – | 37 | 39.4 | 1.0 | – |
| >0–<10 | 87 | 44.2 | 62 | 47.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 to 1.9 | 40 | 42.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 to 1.4 |
| ⩾10 | 13 | 6.6 | 24 | 18.3 | 1.9 | 0.7 to 5.0 | 13 | 13.8 | 1.3 | 0.4 to 3.9 |
| p for trend† | p=0.23 | p=0.91 | ||||||||
| Satisfaction with supervisor (1 = very satisfied to 6 = very dissatisfied) | ||||||||||
| Number of working years classified as 5 or 6 | ||||||||||
| 0 | 126 | 64.0 | 87 | 66.4 | 1.0 | – | 58 | 61.7 | 1.0 | – |
| >0–<10 | 43 | 21.8 | 32 | 24.4 | 1.1 | 0.6 to 2.1 | 23 | 24.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 to 2.0 |
| ⩾10 | 6 | 3.0 | 9 | 6.9 | 1.1 | 0.3 to 4.0 | 9 | 9.6 | 2.1 | 0.5 to 8.6 |
| p for trend† | p=0.73 | p=0.51 | ||||||||
| Satisfaction with workmates (1 = very satisfied to 6 = very dissatisfied) | ||||||||||
| Number of working years classified as 5 or 6 | ||||||||||
| 0 | 167 | 84.8 | 113 | 86.3 | 1.0 | – | 84 | 89.4 | 1.0 | – |
| >0–<10 | 7 | 3.6 | 10 | 7.6 | 2.7 | 0.8 to 9.3 | 5 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 to 3.6 |
| ⩾10 | 1 | 0.5 | 2 | 1.5 | – | – | 2 | 2.1 | – | – |
| p for trend† | p=0.08 | p=0.54 | ||||||||
| Psychic strain through contact with clients (1 = very little to 6 = very much) | ||||||||||
| Number of working years with high degree of psychic strain (classified as 5 or 6) | ||||||||||
| 0 | 180 | 91.4 | 123 | 93.9 | 1.0 | – | 90 | 95.7 | 1.0 | – |
| >0–<10 | 3 | 1.5 | 4 | 3.1 | 6.9 | 1.2 to 40.1 | 1 | 1.1 | – | – |
| ⩾10 | 1 | 0.5 | 3 | 2.3 | – | – | 2 | 2.1 | – | – |
| p for trend† | p=0.02 | p=0.62 | ||||||||
| Time pressure (1 = very little to 6 = very much) | ||||||||||
| Number of working years under high degree of time pressure (classified as 5 or 6) | ||||||||||
| 0 | 69 | 35.0 | 31 | 23.7 | 1.0 | – | 25 | 26.6 | 1.0 | – |
| >0–<10 | 57 | 28.9 | 35 | 26.7 | 1.3 | 0.7 to 2.8 | 28 | 29.8 | 1.2 | 0.6 to 2.6 |
| ⩾10 | 50 | 25.4 | 62 | 47.3 | 2.3 | 1.1 to 4.8 | 39 | 41.5 | 2.9 | 1.3 to 6.3 |
| p for trend† | p=0.02 | p=0.007 | ||||||||
| Too much responsibility (1 = very little to 6 = very much) | ||||||||||
| Number of working years classified as 5 or 6 | ||||||||||
| 0 | 137 | 69.5 | 86 | 65.6 | 1.0 | – | 73 | 77.7 | 1.0 | – |
| >0–<10 | 17 | 8.6 | 20 | 15.3 | 1.5 | 0.6 to 3.6 | 9 | 9.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 to 1.7 |
| ⩾10 | 22 | 11.2 | 22 | 16.8 | 1.1 | 0.5 to 2.5 | 10 | 10.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 to 1.6 |
| p for trend† | p=0.58 | p=0.22 | ||||||||
